Listen to Your Heart
by SaraNomed
Summary: It was just another mission, one more chance to prove their mettle. But as the saying goes, anything that can go wrong will, and in one moment everything will change. Goals are abandoned, plans are shifted, hearts are laid bare and nothing will ever quite be the same. Cover art property of MistressAinley of deviantart and used with permission.
1. Ice and Bullets

The wind shrieked through the mountains, whipping the still-falling snow into blinding, biting sheets. Visibility was next to nothing, the drifts were piling up fast, and being outside long meant certain frostbite or hypothermia. The guards atop the walls of Fort Johton knew this, and they rotated their shifts frequently. Nestled high in Unova's rugged northwestern mountains, Fort Johton carried stockpiles of weapons, medicine, research data, as well as being a prime place for high-altitude, cold weather "research" of it's own. It was a formidable place; a three-story high, hexagonal stone and metal behemoth perpetually crusted with ice. The guards did their duty as best they could, but in weather this bad it was near impossible. The only movement was the groaning, swaying trees and the countless flakes swirling about...except for three tiny, unseen figures slowly making their way toward a side access door spotted days prior. They wore all white clothing and had heavy white coats, gloves and boots to blend in with the environment. The first figure stopped and stooped low to rest and regain their bearings. The second, shivering, crawled over and wormed his way under her coat. The third stooped beside them and said as loudly as he dared, despite the wind, "I have a bad feeling about this!"

The first figure turned her head to glare at him, her blue eyes cold as the snow around them, "James, you always have a bad feeling about this!"

"And how many times have I been right Jessie?" he protested, "Honestly; of all the stupid, dangerous things we've pulled, this is just about the worst! This place is heavily guarded, inside and out, and those 'use of deadly force' signs we saw earlier weren't kidding! The payout of this break-in better be worth it, that's all."

"Stop whining! Of course it'll be worth it! All that research, sold to the highest bidder! Those medical supplies! What's not useful to us now we'll sell at a good profit! And of course any Pokemon we can get a hold of we'll grab. We'll be rolling in money on the beach in a week!"

"As long as we don't-"  
"C-can we stop fightin' and start gettin' inside already?" a muffled voice pleaded from under Jessie's coat, "I'm turnin' into a Meowth-sicle!"

She shivered, "Good point. We'll all be if we don't get there soon."

After another moment of strategizing, they again began creeping toward the fort, keeping eyes both on their target entry door and the guards on the walls when the snow wasn't too thick. When they were a mere ten feet away, Jessie turned slightly and said "Ok, on the count of three, we make a break for the door. One..two..."  
Abruptly James shoved her down just as a short, sharp crack was heard.  
Meowth, who had chosen to brave the elements again, bristled and looked around "What was that?!"  
Jessie fell face first in the snow, flailed, and leapt back up angrily, snarling "Just what the hell do you-!?"

She paused when she saw James grimacing and clutching the left side of his chest. "What?" she repeated, "What happened?"  
He opened one eye, "Ouch..." he uttered, barely audible in the gale.  
Just then a loud, angry whistle sounded from the walls, followed by shouts and more whistles. Jessie gasped-they had been spotted!  
Meowth waved a paw, "C'mon, we'll backtrack! Make it harder for 'em!" and bounded back down their trail. She grabbed James's hand, "ABANDON SHIP! Move!" Starting to run, his hand slipped from hers and she whipped around, "What are you _doing_?! We have to run!"

Still holding his chest, he locked eyes with her, "Go on without me..."  
In a panic she cried, "Are you insane!?" and grabbed his collar, yanking him a few steps. His hands dropped to reveal an oozing, bloody hole in his coat. Jessie froze in horror, staring at it.  
James pulled a tight smile, "Told you those signs weren't kidding." and collapsed.

She managed to partially catch him as he fell, though his weight took them both down. She hoisted him to sit semi-upright, bracing him against herself.  
"MEOWTH!" she screamed into the howling wind, which had picked up for the worse. No answer. Turning her attention back to her wounded friend, she yelled "James? JAMES! Answer me!"

Approaching shouts caught her attention; she knew they were in trouble, but how much depended on her now and how quick she could think. She swiftly buried their bag of burglary supplies and weapons deep in the snow and covered it as smoothly as possible. Next she removed a glove and using her fingernails, ripped jagged holes in both their coats.

Swallowing hard to steady her nerves, she turned her head and wailed "HEEEEELP! Help us!"  
Several guards suddenly surrounded them, guns pointed. One shouted "Who are you?! Why are you here?"

Summoning her acting skills for the story but not the tears streaming down her frozen face she sobbed "We're hikers! We were attacked by a Beartic," she displayed her torn sleeve, "then got lost when this storm kicked up and we knew this place was here and we were hoping for help and you SHOT HIM!"

"Oh jeez," another said, "Captain Brinks, sir, I was the one who took the shot...I thought _they_ were Beartics and you know how viscous they get up here."  
"No hikers come this far up." the first soldier said to Jessie, ignoring him.

"I told you, we got lost! We just-"

James suddenly gasped and jerked upright, coughing harshly then fell back, shaking. Jessie held him tightly, pressing his hands on his wound and snarled, "Question me all you want but for heaven's sake _**help him!**_"

The captain finally sighed and motioned to the others, who swiftly lifted James off the snowy ground as they all hustled inside. Jessie started to follow him but the captain clapped a hand on her arm, "Oh no, miss. You're coming with me." Pulling off his hood and scarf to reveal a deeply scarred face, he cracked a bitter, humorless smile that was somehow colder than the weather outside. Jessie felt a chill run up her spine and suddenly wished she had kept a weapon after all...


	2. Double Trouble

After what felt like hours of questioning in a small, windowless room, Jessie was allowed to rest and was even given some water and hot stew. She slurped it down, knowing she'd need her strength to formulate a plan and get them out of here...and where was Meowth? She bit her lip, imagining him out in the merciless cold, shivering and alone. She had to be strong, for all of them. And James...how was he doing? His terrified eyes kept staring back at her thoughts. No one she asked knew, or would tell her, anything. Finally she couldn't take it and pounded on the door, "Hey! I need to speak to someone in charge!" Silence. Raising her fist again, she nearly hit Captain Brinks in the face as the door flew open.  
"I suppose you want to see your boyfriend?" he asked flatly.

A slight blush crept across her face, but she resisted arguing the point, hoping that it may garner kinder treatment for them, "Yes...How is he?"  
He motioned for her to follow and they made their way down a maze of corridors, flanked by two silent guards. Jessie made sure to memorize as much detail as possible to aide in their escape plan if necessary. Most of the doors were identical and few were marked, nonetheless she absorbed everything she could.  
Finally he spoke, "He's lucky to be alive. Renolds is one of our best marksmen. The wind shifting the bullet's trajectory is the only thing that saved him. Even so..." he stopped and glanced at her as they stopped beside a door marked 'Infirmary #97', "There's only so much we can do."

The door opened and a doctor poked his head out, gesturing to the captain, who stepped closer. The two men spoke quietly for a minute, the captain's eyes flicking to Jessie for a moment before nodding curtly to the doctor, who ducked back inside. Jessie felt a twinge of panic- what had they said? Then a terrible realization hit her...she had been wearing her coat this whole time, but in order to treat James they would have had to remove his, which meant they had surely noticed his uniform. She forced herself to stay calm and keep an innocently worried expression. If that was indeed the topic of their exchange, the captain made no indication of it and simply jerked his head toward the open doorway.

Jessie edged around him into the room. There were about a dozen cots along the walls, all with occupants in various states of injury or illness. All beds had monitors and various medical equipment clustered about them. A couple patients smiled or looked curiously at her when she passed them, though she took no notice, her focus solely on the last cot on the right side. Resisting the urge to run, she strode to the bed and flopped into the provided chair at it's side. James was fast asleep, or unconscious, an IV in his arm, with a thick swath of bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulder. He was pale and his breathing was heavy. Jessie choked back tears seeing him like this. Turning to a nearby nurse she asked calmly, "How is he doing?"

The man looked at her blankly, then away, then back to him, "We've done everything we can. The rest is up to him." then went back to tending another patient.

Her heart dropped into her boots as she turned back around, laying one hand gently on his arm.

"You idiot..." she whispered, "You and your bad feeling. Looks like you were right on this one. Hey...do me-us-a favor...don't die yet. Remember? The beach? Living the good life? We can still do that. But we can't do it without you. So..." she felt the tears welling up again, "So don't you dare die on us yet! You hear me James? That's-that's an order!"

He didn't respond. She bit her lip and lowered her head to rest it on the cot. "Please don't leave me..." she whimpered, her emotions finally overtaking her composure. Tears blurring her vision, she never noticed when his emerald eyes fluttered open. He weakly moved his arm to get her attention, and her head snapped upward.  
"You're awake!" she chuckled, sniffing and trying to quickly wipe away her tears.

"Yeah..." he managed, his voice shaky, "So...are we in trouble?"

"Better make that double." she sighed.  
He tried to laugh but it broke into a ragged cough so he stopped. She squeezed his hand, "Shhh. I think I managed to dig us out of the worst of it. They still don't trust us. But I think we'll manage to get out somehow or another."  
"Good..." he said, "Where's Meowth?"

Jessie looked down, "I don't know. No sign of him...I'm sure he managed to find shelter..."

There was a minute of silence as she simply stroked his hand trying to comfort him. Finally he said "Jessie?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a confession; two really. I don't feel so good, I heard the med staff saying that I was basically a dead man...I'm honestly not sure I'm gonna make it out of here alive, so I need to get it off my chest."  
"Don't you dare! Don't even." she snapped, harsher than she had meant to.  
"Too bad," he took a slow breath, "I saw the guard. I saw he was aiming at you. So I pushed you out of the way." He closed his eyes.

Jessie stared at him incredulously, "What? Really? Why would you do that?"  
"Because of all we've been through together. Because you're my best friend. Because I couldn't just stand there and let you get hurt. Because..." he opened his eyes again to look at her, his cheeks reddening, "I love you."

Jessie's hand flew to her mouth as she stared back at him. Her mind raced and heart pounded. She knew. She had known for a little while, at least she had suspected. All the times he'd held her a little longer than necessary, had slipped his hand into hers for no apparent reason, had caught him watching her with that adorable, dopey grin, had started to say he needed to talk to her, then blushed and mumbled 'maybe later'. But to hear him come out and say the words...  
"You...really love me?"

"Yes...I have for a while. I just couldn't muster the courage to tell you. Let's face it, courage has never been my thing. Now you know."

"And if you...what then?" she wondered, heat rising in her face, "I'm left heartbroken? Why did you tell me at all? I'm sorry I don't mean that I-oh jeez..." she saw his hurt expression. Here he had just bared a part of his soul, and she was stomping on it. Typical.

"Just in case I don't make it...I wanted you to know. Not to hurt you but so you'd know you're loved, beautiful, and not worthless like you think you are," he reached to stroke her cheek, "Just..remember your stupid friend every so often."  
"You're not stupid," she smiled, tears threatening again, "And you're going to make it. After all, we have too many things to do."

They abruptly heard a snuffling yawn from underneath the cot.  
"What was that?" wondered James.  
Jessie stooped and lifted the bed-skirt to see what it was-and found Meowth!"  
"Meowth?!" she hissed, "How did you-?!"

"I have my ways," he said, "Ok, so I found a small drain pipe. How you holdin' up Jess?"  
"I'm fine..worry about James. We'll have to lay low here for a bit I'm afraid."

"I heard the nurses talkin'...he's gonna be okay...right?"

Jessie paused, for once torn between blunt honesty and sugar-coating things. Finally she said,  
"He's in bad shape, but you know what a stubborn guy he is. And he knows how much we need him."

The Pokemon smiled, his spirits lifted a bit, "Yeah, dat's true. I'll stay here wit him while you do what you need ta do."

"Thank you Meowth. I'll keep you up to date on things if you don't find out first." she reached to scratch him under the chin.  
"Nyah, no problem." he purred.

Jessie sat back up, feeling better. Meowth was ok; a huge check on the plus side of this horrible day. James was half-heartedly smiling as she said "Well, looks like Meowth is ok..now for you to get better. If you-"  
A loud rapping sound startled her, and she turned to see Captain Brinks standing in the doorway. "Visiting hours are over. Come with me."

She looked back at James and he nodded. Squeezing his hand she said "I'll be back. You've always been as hard-headed as an Onix. Don't let us down now. And...I..." she let the sentence hang in the air, leaning over to kiss his forehead before quickly walking away.


	3. Escape!

They were detained for several weeks while James recovered, and Jessie was given her own 'room', which was nothing more than a large holding cell. Soon, the routine of questioning and hours of waiting alone slowed then finally ceased, simply because they could find no evidence of wrongdoing. Jessie had carefully crafted their story to be as innocent, convincing, and consistent as possible. They'd been interrogated before; she knew what to do. Still, the thought of them knowing who they really were was ever present in her mind. They were currently the only field agents in Unova; perhaps they were lucky enough to escape notice.

'But when are we ever lucky...?' she bitterly thought.

When they stopped interrogating her, they put her to work in the kitchen (which almost landed her in more trouble after a soldier tried to slap her rear and she beat him unconscious), and would only let her see James for a little while each day. After a couple days of touch-and-go, he turned a corner and started to recover, regaining his strength a little more each day. Her heart nearly burst with joy the day she came in and found him finally sitting up, laughing with the man next to him. Whenever she could visit, she brought the deck of cards she had been given to amuse herself in between rounds of questions; poker became their favorite.  
James's confession was never mentioned, though it ate at both of them. She certainly wasn't going to speak of the dream she had had that first night; of them meeting by a lakeside with the full moon shimmering off the water's surface, of him wrapping her in his arms, gently kissing her and pulling her down with him to the soft grass and...  
No, she was most definitely _not_ saying anything.  
Meowth continued to stay hidden, although now his home base was beneath a worktable in the kitchen, which suited him well as he was near both Jessie and food. The two of them took every opportunity to study the layout and possible escape routes. At night they whispered together, going over plans and refining them. Jessie kept James up-to-date on their plans by scribbling messages on the playing cards. Finally one late night, after the doctors had told James he was back to full health they all agreed; if they didn't let them go within the next two days, they'd make a break for it...

Two days later, while Meowth was snatching rations and stuffing them in a burlap potato sack, Jessie was getting their cold-weather clothes back (mostly by shamelessly flirting with the young man guarding the Confiscated Goods room), and James, feigning enthusiasm for military history and architecture, was discussing at length the water, sewer, and supply tunnels webbed within the fort with an equally enthusiastic technician in his office. They had previously agreed to rendezvous at an appointed time by a trash chute Meowth had overheard went almost directly to the outside once they each had their parts of the plan complete.  
At eight o'clock it was quiet. At ten a pin drop would have been loud. At midnight a small shadow darted from doorway to doorway, stealthily knocking out several guards along the way and finally stopping beneath a grate-covered hole in the wall. Meowth crouched silently, gripping the bag of food and water tightly.

'Where ARE they?!' he thought worriedly.

A few minutes later, a second figure crept up and nodded, holding a rolled-up blueprint. James looked around and glanced curiously at Meowth. The cat shook his head. Barely a minute passed however, before Jessie swiftly appeared.

She handed them their stuff, whispering "We gotta move it."

"Didja get caught?" Meowth fretted, helping James with his coat; his shoulder was still too stiff to get it on himself.

"No," she replied, tugging her boots on, "I disabled the security cams, for now. But we can't waste a moment, none the less. Ok team; here we go. Screwdriver!"

James handed her the one he had nicked from the technician's desk. While he and Meowth kept lookout, she deftly undid the screws holding the grate in place. It was heavy, and James used his good arm to help her silently remove and set it on the stone floor. Meowth leapt up and slinging the supply bag around himself, peered down the long, dark tube. With his acute eyesight and hearing, he could almost see the end. He could definitely hear the wind outside, albeit faintly. He turned to look at them and nodded confidently, then launched himself into the chute. James followed, then Jessie last, keeping an eye on their backs. What she hadn't mentioned was that she had taken a detour to secure themselves some protection, as well as several bag-fulls of expensive medicines; no way they were leaving here empty-handed. She felt their weight in her pockets as she hoisted herself into the tube and slid after them. After a brisk, stomach-flipping ride she landed in a soft pile of..well..it _was_ a trash chute. Disgusted, they composed themselves and checked James's blueprint.

"The best way to go is here," he said, pointing to a nearby maintenance access door, "It leads right to a short hall, then the outside door."

"Perfect. Let's blow this joint!"

"If only we had some dynamite..." Meowth added wistfully.

They quickly exited the trash bin, tip-toed down the hall, and were almost to the door when they heard a loud "Er-hem!" behind them. All three froze in shock and reluctantly turned. Captain Brinks was leaning casually against the wall, with an ice-cold smirk on his face and a pistol in his hand.

He sighed and shook his head, "You know, after all we've done for you guys, this is really quite hurtful."

"How-how'd you find us?" asked Meowth.

The captain's eyebrows shot up "Sweet Cinnabar-! A talking Pokemon? I've seen him sneaking around but had no idea...Well then. That's a new one. Tell you what," he gestured at Meowth, "you give me this little fella, I can look the other way. Hell, you two were never here. Sound good?"

"I don't think so. This 'little fella' is ours. He's our friend, he's no bargaining chip, and he's certainly not going with _you_." Jessie snapped.

Meowth grinned and crossed his arms, "Thaaat's right."

Captain Brinks's smile fell. He took a step closer, his voice low and angry, "You think I'm an idiot? You think I haven't been watching each and every move you guys made?" he waved the pistol at them, "All your 'poker games'. I found a card you dropped. Very clever using them to communicate. I've also been monitoring security footage. Oh, you three are good. You're very good. But I'm better. I found out who you are, Team Rocket."

They all glanced at each other; so they had been discovered after all. Almost by instinct, they moved to form a back-to-back stance, though they knew better than to attempt their motto right now.

Instead, Jessie declared in her most authoritative voice, "Then you ought to know who you're dealing with!"

"Let us go quietly and we'll be forgiving!" James added as coolly as he could with a gun pointed at them.

Meowth added "Don't make us call in back-up!"

The captain threw his head back and laughed, "Bwa-hahaha! Nice try, but I know there's no one coming. You're all alone!"

"We will never be alone-" said Jessie, and James picked it up, "-because we'll always have each other!"

"Okay, I've had enough of this," Captain Brinks snapped, raising his gun and aiming squarely for James's chest, "How about I finish what Renolds started? _I_ won't miss."

Like lighting Jessie whipped the pistol she had stolen from her pocket and had it trained on Brink's head.

"Put it down!" she growled.

The captain chuckled darkly "Or what? You'll shoot me? Listen, little lady. You might be a good actress, you might seem tough, you're even good looking," he winked, "but you're just a scared little girl. You don't have the stomach to shoot someone." He cocked the weapon.

A shot rang out. Brinks howled and dropped to his knees, holding his bleeding hand. James and Meowth stared at Jessie holding the smoking pistol calmly, unsure whether to move or not. She walked over to the wounded captain and kicked his own gun out of reach. He glowered at her with a burning rage, sweat beading across his face.

She pressed the gun to his forehead, "You're half right. I'm a lady, I'm a good actress, and I'm tough. But you'd be wrong about me being scared. And I'm no little girl..." she leaned closer, "I'm a Team Rocket soldier, and I will kill anyone who threatens us."

His eyes widened. She leaned back and started to squeeze the trigger-just as James yelled, "Wait!"


	4. The Walls We Build

**JUST TO LET ALL MY DEAR READERS KNOW-I'm going to be moving next week, so this MAY be the last chapter I'll be able to post for a week or two. I'm not completely sure at this point. Whatever the case, I will update as soon as I can. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reading, reviewing and following my story. I won't you you down!**

The adrenaline pumping, she almost didn't hear him. She paused, snorting, "Are you kidding?! He was going to kill you-all of us probably!"

"Nyah, I know Jess but..." Meowth stepped forward, "He's got a point. We're bad guys and all, and yeah we've done some pretty rotten things but...we ain't murderers..."

Jessie risked a glance at James, "And you? I think you're the one with the most to say in this situation."

James reached to touch his still-aching chest and shoulder. Looking at the wounded, bleeding man...he couldn't condone it, despite everything. He knew he was a lot of things, but Meowth was right; a murderer was not one.

He shook his head, "No."

Captain Brinks snickered, "So this is the fearsome Team Rocket huh? A bunch of soft, sentimental, bleeding-heart fools-oops! Bad choice of words? Maybe-" Jessie cut him off with a kick to the head with her heavy boot. He dropped to his side and lay there out cold.

"There!" she said, "That's better." Stuffing the gun back in her pocket, she walked back to her companions.

"Let's run before anyone else shows up!" Meowth suggested, jumping to open the door.

It being the middle of the night, it wasn't too difficult to make their way away from the fort undetected. When they were already a ways off, they thought they heard an alarm, causing them to panic and run full-speed until they were well out of sight of the place, not even bothering to retrieve their buried supplies. Collapsing in exhaustion, they lay in the snow, staring at the star-studded sky through the tree branches and catching their breath. Abruptly, James began to chuckle, then burst into a loud, hearty laugh. The others looked at him as if he'd lost his marbles.

"What's so funny Jimmy?" Meowth asked, "You almost died back dere, and we ain't out of ta woods yet, not until we get back to our snowmobiles!"

"Yeah, but," he kicked his legs in the snow, still giddy, "I didn't! I'm aliiive!" he raised his hands and sat up, Frankenstein-esque, "And guess what? Our snowmobiles are right there!" he pointed to a swath of undergrowth, "Honestly, am I the only one who remembers these things?"

Jessie stood, pulling him up with her and finding herself grinning like a fool too, "I knew that! Now let's book it before they come after us!"  
They pulled off the branches and camouflage tarps covering the vehicles, hopped on and sped away from the nightmare of the past several weeks...

A few days later they were camping out in a clearing by a small lake on their way back to headquarters. The evening was warm, their stomachs were full thanks to the fish Meowth had managed to catch, and they were more content than they had been in quite a while. They all lay stretched out on their sleeping bags, stargazing, laughing and talking. The topics ranged from their misadventure to where they were going next to how mad the boss was gonna be with them for vanishing for so long. They were quiet for a bit, before James sighed loudly and said "Hey Jessie?"

"Yes?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

She swallowed, prepping herself for what she was sure to follow, "James, I..."

"I'm thinking of leaving Team Rocket."

"I mean, I-wait _**what?!**_" she sat bolt-upright, turning to face him.

Meowth, who had been grooming himself, stopped mid-lick, his eyes wide, "Huuuuh?!" he exclaimed.

James folded his good arm behind his head, "Yep. After this whole thing...well, when you get close enough to death to spit at it and manage to come back, it gets you thinking. And I've been thinking that maybe this isn't the thing for me after all. Honestly, I've been feeling that way for a while now, but I didn't know when was a good time to say it. Now seems about right."

Jessie grumbled, "Ok smart-guy...what would you do then?"

"I'm not sure. I've always liked fashion...maybe I'll work at an upscale clothing store. Ooh! I can picture me now in a stylish suit and hat, greeting customers. Then again, I've always been good at building and repairing our balloon, or sub, or whatever-we-have. Maybe I'll work at a mechanic shop. I'll save up enough to start my own business!"

"That does sound better den our current situation." Meowth agreed.

Jessie stood up and made a fist, "Are you guys serious?! We can't give up yet! We still have work to do!"

"Like killing ourselves trying to catch one lousy electric rodent?" said James dully.

"Yes! It doesn't matter if it sounds stupid the fact is it's our mission!"

Meowth chimed in, "Jess, I hate ta say it, but I'm thinkin' Jimmy's got a point here..."

"Not you too!" she groaned, rubbing her forehead, "Listen; I know things have been bad lately, we've had some major setbacks, but I really think this could finally be our time to shine! We've got some money now," she went to her bag and pulled out the medicines, "once we sell these, anyway. With that we can finally get back to what we're meant to do-be the best at being the worst!"

When neither of them responded, Jessie's shoulder's drooped, "Oh come on! Say something!"

Finally James sat up, turning himself around to face her, "Jessie...I mean it. I'm done. I'm so tired, not just physically...I'm tired of losing, of always be hungry and cold and hurt or sick. I'm just...burned out."

"So you're just going to give up? Hey, I'm suffering just as much as you two whiners and I'm not throwing in the towel yet!" she spread her arms, "Remember training? How we swore we'd be the baddest bunch of bandits as long as we stuck together?!"

"Yeah, and we was...for a while..." sighed Meowth.

James looked up at the night sky, remembering, "Oh, weren't we though! We were good, no, we were great! We were successful, we were feared, and we were respected. And then..." his face clouded with bitter anger, "Now, we're the bottom of the heap. The losers. I just feel like...like everyone's laughing at us!"

Jessie walked over to him and sat down, "And this is why we can't give up yet. I won't rest until I'm back at the top. We deserve better than this, and-"

"And that's fine for you," he suddenly stood, biting his lip as he accidentally put weight on his bad arm, "But as for me...I need something new. I don't care about being at the top of Team Rocket anymore. I need..." he paused, "I don't know. But not this."

Meowth padded closer, "I has somethin' ta add. As much as I still kinda love ta boss and wanna make him happy n' all...you guys," his eyes welled up, "have been dere for me more times den I can count. You're true pals, and whatever you decide ta do or go, I'll follow!" He thumped his furry chest for emphasis.

Smiling, Jessie reached out and scratched his head, "Thank you Meowth, that's the spirit! Don't worry, we're gonna be back in action in not time! Right James?"

He crossed his arms, "I meant what I said. I. Am. Done."

Jessie stood herself, "And I mean this: You are _not_ giving up on our job or our team yet buster! I will _drag_ you back to headquarters if I have to!"

In response, he snorted and started to walk away. Stomping her foot she yelled at him to come back, but he ignored her and kept walking, finally stopping to lean against a large boulder by the lake's edge.

"Meowth! Go talk some sense into him!" barked Jessie.

"Why me!?"

"Because he's mad at me right now and you might convince him to snap out of it!"

"YOU go talk ta him! You're ta one tryin' so hard ta keep going! Jess, doin' somethin' else...is startin' ta sound really temtpin," he turned around and headed back toward their sleeping bags, "I gotta get some sleep. Good night, and good luck."

Realizing it was up to her, Jessie took a few deep breaths before slowly walking over to the boulder James was still leaning on. She stood quietly a couple feet away, staring out over the lake. Clouds had gathered, blotting the moon and stars and making the water seem suddenly more sinister.

After a minute she cleared her throat, "James? Can I talk to you?"

He turned his head ever so slightly, exhaling sharply, and she knew this meant he was paying attention and willing to listen. She knew all his subtle looks, gestures, what different sighs and eye-brow movements meant...she pondered for a second how well he knew hers.

She stepped slightly closer, "I understand you're tired of always losing, I am too, and I can understand how this last, um, mishap scared you to the point of wanting to give up. But we can't! After all we've done and been through, to give up now would feel like it was all for nothing! We are _so_ close to finally-"

"Finally what?" he pouted, discreetly wiping his sleeve across his tear-filled eyes, "Let me guess; catching Pikachu? Glory and riches? What's the plan that's inevitably going to, quite literally, blow up in our faces this time?"

"That attitude isn't helping!" she could feel her patience failing, "If we could just find a way to-"

"No! I've made up my-"

"Stop interrupting me!"

The arguing continued with neither side gaining any ground, until James unconsciously swung his injured arm around to strengthen a point he was making, sending a searing stab of pain through his body. He wailed and clutched his shoulder, cursing himself for forgetting as he waited for the burning to subside. Jessie waited for him to regain his composure, her rage fading as she remembered why he was like this in the first place.

With a deep sigh she confessed, "I don't want to fight with you...I-we just almost lost you."

"I don't either," he straightened himself up, "But I'm serious...I really want out. So, now what?"

"I'm really not sure," she sniffed, "And what's with you anyway? Normally you would have caved by now."

He responded by pointing to his wound, and she gave an 'oh-that's-right' nod. He silently reached his good hand out, and she stepped up to him, allowing him to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

After a minute of quiet thinking, Jessie wondered aloud "And, what about me?"

"Hmm?"

She leaned her head against him, "If you two cowards quit on me, I mean it's not like I'm used to having to do things alone or rely on myself but..." she smiled slightly, "I've kind of grown attached to you guys."

James looked at her, "Well, come with us! You've said yourself many times how you can't stand the boss or the crap he puts us through either. I know you don't want to give up yet, but will you at least consider it...for me?"

The clouds broke then, and moonlight flooded the landscape. He turned himself so they faced each other, now putting both arms around her.

"Jessica...please. We can't go on like this forever. We're both not as young as we used to be, and this is taking it's toll more and more. I know it, and I know deep down you do too. So I'll ask again; please come with us, with me. I...meant what I said. I love you."

A part of him desperately wanted to just throw caution to the wind and kiss her, but fear won out and he froze. Looking back at him, it suddenly hit her how closely this resembled her dream; the moonlight, the sparkling lake, how close they held each other. It would be so easy to just give in and...  
She panicked, stepping back, needing to be strong and not completely trusting herself right now.

Squaring her shoulders, she said, "I can't. My pride won't let me. I have to keep going, to prove to myself and everyone else I'm not a complete loser!"

Realizing he was defeated, James sighed, turned away and started making his way back toward their sleeping area. As he passed her he said sorrowfully, "We'll talk about it in the morning, I guess. I just...wish I meant as much to you as your pride."

At that her heart broke a little, and somewhere, a part of her own soul wanted to spin him around, kiss him silly, and tell Giovanni to go screw himself. But she couldn't. She wasn't ready to admit it to herself, much less to anyone else, that she too was exhausted by this whole thing and the only threads she was hanging by lately were her pride and the vain hope of better days to come. So she kept her mouth shut and let him walk away. Knowing that trying to sleep was pointless, she stayed standing by that boulder for a long time, lost in thought. Plans were formed and abandoned in her head. Finally, she realized there was only one viable solution left. It left her heartbroken, but it was for the best, for everyone. Silently, she crept back to their camp, opened her pack and removed a small piece of paper and a pencil. Scribbling a short note, she stuck it under their cooking pot. Sitting silently for a few minutes, she gazed upon her sleeping friends; dear, good friends with whom she had been through so much.

"Good-bye, Meowth...take care of him..." she whispered, carefully pulling his blanket up higher as the feline babbled in his sleep.

She looked especially long at James. He was snoring slightly, tendrils of his periwinkle hair across his face. She knew she loved him too, and wanted to tell him desperately, but it was another thing she just wasn't ready for. She reached out toward him-then quickly pulled her hand back.

"I love you too..." she uttered, "I'm so sorry...good-bye."

Standing, she quietly as possible rolled up her sleeping bag, made sure she had all of her stuff, leaving one of the bags of medicines for them, and started to creep away. Pausing, she stole one last glance over her shoulder before slipping away into the darkness...


	5. Time Heals?

***DEAR READERS-I thought the last chapter I posted would be it before my brief hiatus, however, I had a wee bit more time than predicted, thus THIS will be the last chapter I'm able to post for about a week and a half to two weeks. I'm sorry to leave you hanging but moving is a bitch, which I'm certain many of you understand. THANK YOU again from the bottom of my heart for your support and I will back ASAP. Enjoy!***

2 YEARS LATER...

The sun glimmered on the crystal-blue waters of Slateport City's bay area, throwing glittering rainbows off the piers. Boats bobbed cheerfully at their docks as Wingulls and Pelippers circled overhead, cawing as they searched for lunch. A row of buildings that looked like they had seen better days lined the street and boardwalk, advertising everything from charter fishing tours to whale-watching to fish processing plants. Being the middle of the day, most people were on a lunch break or out on the water, so it was relatively quiet. A small car rounded a corner and parked in front of a building with peeling white paint, a creaky sign saying, "Big Gus' Fishing Co." topped with a rusty mermaid weathervain. A figure stepped from the vehicle and shielded her eyes against the sun's glare, double-checking she had the right location. Noting she was correct, she started for the door marked 'Office'-and promptly stepped in something squishy. In disgust, she looked down to realize she had stepped in a pile of fish guts-with her new heels, of course. Shuddering, she kicked her foot until the worst was gone and wiped it on the ratty welcome mat. Clearing her throat, she straightened her skirt and as an added measure, tugged her blouse down just a bit before giving the door a few hearty knocks. Something she had quickly learned was that flashing a bit of cleavage or leg could be quite helpful in closing a deal. For a moment she thought no one was in, until a large, rather unkempt man dressed in dirty coveralls appeared at the window. Opening the door, he eyed her up and down and finally grumbled, "Can I help ya, miss?"

"Yes, good afternoon, sir, Mr. Gus?" she flashed her ID card, "My name is Jessie, I'm from Mr. Langer's office, and I'm here today to talk to you about-"

"Who?"

"Mr. Langer. Your real estate agent? I'm here regarding 56 Sturgeon? The old hatchery you were looking to-"

"Ah yeah! Yeah! That whole thing. Oh, sorry miss, come on in..." he stepped aside and she entered somewhat hesitantly. His "office" was a small, dark, messy room that somehow smelled more strongly of fish than the harbor outside, laced with stale cigar smoke. A Snubbull dozed on a pile of blankets on hte windowsill, and a Poliwag bobbed listlessly in a tank perched on an old table. Jessie tried not to wrinkle her nose as he walked past her and pulled a chair around for her to sit on. He tossed the pile of magazines previously occupying it onto the Poliwag's table and plopped into his own chair behind his desk. Picking up a half-gone cigar, he took a short puff before asking "So, what about it? I thought that thing was already off my hands."

Opening her binder, she removed several sheets of paper, "Actually, I'm afraid that's why I'm here; it's not. There were some discrepencies in the finacial paperwork and the transfering of those records. I have a couple forms here that you need to go over and re-fill-"

Gus rolled his eyes "Oh for heaven's sake! I've already filled out more than enough paperwork for you people! You're telling me I need to do more?"

Jessie gritted her teeth, attempting to keep up a smile, "Yes. I'm afraid it's just how it is. If there's any error we need to correct it before any sale can be complete," she held out the papers. When after a moment he didn't take them, she opened her hand and let them fall on the desk, "I'm simply here doing my job. If you could please look them over and complete them, I can be on my way."

Gus thoughtfully chewed his cigar. Then he waved a hand dismissively, "Listen, I've got a _lot_ of other things to do around here today. How's about you come back later, I'll have this done, and maybe," he leaned forward and winked, "You and I can go somewhere. I know some nice little sweet spots around here...might even find yours, gorgeous."

Jessie could feel the heat rise in her face as she clutched her binder with a white-knuckle grip. Resisting the urge to punch this scum-bag was proving extremely difficult, but resist she must; she had already been reprimanded twice for physical violence against a client. One more strike and she was fired.

Instead, she counted to ten before saying, "I'll be back later for the paperwork. No more, no less." and quickly stood, turned, and exited.

Stalking back to her vehicle, she took several deep breaths before yelling out a string of profanities and furiously kicking a pile of old crates. Her rage spent, she leaned against her car while pulling out some of her own paperwork. Using the trunk as a table, she began to scribble away. In this time, a small fishing vessel had come into port and docked. The workers were unloading their haul nearby, though she paid them and their loud carrying on no mind. All of a sudden, she heard a slightly rough, unfamilar voice say her name. She looked up and around. Except for the men on the boat, there was no one. Then she heard it again...and looked down to find a scruffy Persian with a fish in it's mouth.

"Shoo, you mangy cat!" she admonished him, waving her hand, "You have food already, and I don't have any more. Go on!"

The Persian set the fish down, cocked his head, and said in that same rough voice, "Is dat any way to greet an old friend, Jess?"

Jessie shrieked, dropping her pen, and scooted backward, "What-how-who?!" she pointed at the feline, "How do you know my name?! Who are you? There's only one Pokemon I've ever known to speak, and he-"

"He's right here. Jess, it's me! I'm Meowth..well, Persian now, I guess," the cat raised one paw in a familiar gesture and croaked, "Thaaat's right!"

Jessie slapped a hand on her mouth, "Oh, Meowth! Um, Persian? It IS you!" She kneeled down and hugged him, and he purred loudly. A tear escaped her eye, "I really don't believe it. Of all the places I go, of all the coincidences. Your voice sounds so...rough. What happened?"

"When I evolved I kinda lost bein' able ta talk and I've had to re-learn it. It was crazy-oh, dere's quite a story! Me and Jimmy gotta tell ya all about-OH! Of course! Be right back!"

He pulled away and bounded toward the boat. Jessie stood, still in shock. After all these years, to run into Meowth again-well, not quite; now he was a Persian. Suddenly he was trotting back to her, wagging his tail, "Guess who I found?!" he said proudly.

Jessie looked up-and saw him. Her heart skipped a few beats. It was James, but like Meowth, he too had evolved in a sense. He had more muscle now, evident with his grey T-shirt. His hair was a little longer, pulled back with a piece of twine, and he had a fair amount of stubble across his jawline. He stood staring at her, stunned. She had dissapeared from his life, and now here she was, back as suddenly as she had gone. He prayed this wasn't a dream.

"...Jessie?! Could it be?" he wondered, walking toward her.

Her feet were rooted to the spot. A part of her wanted to throw her arms around him, kiss him and beg forgiveness. The other part wanted to run. So she simply stood there as he stepped up to her, stopping about an arm's length away.

"I know what you're going to say..." she sniffed, crossing her arms and looking to the side.

He cocked his head slightly, "What?"

Expecting the worst she instinctively went on the defensive, "How could you Jessie? Right? How could you vanish on us? Abandon your teammates after all that pep-talk about us sticking together? Hmph! I suppose you're angry with me and don't want to-"

He closed the space between them and embraced her tightly, "I missed you."

His eyes welled up and his very soul danced with joy; he wasn't dreaming! At long last he had found her. The question of why could be left for later, for now he chose to enjoy this moment.  
Jessie froze. She had been expecting a fight, some harsh words, but not this. She could feel her own eyes begin to water, but quickly stopped herself. Pulling back to look at her, he grinned and said "Hello, Jessie. It's been a while. You cut your hair?"

She managed a small smile,"Just a little...darn split ends. You let yours grow...so um...hello to you too. Jeez, someone's been working out!" she flushed pink and wondered how different she looked to him.

"Pulling ropes and nets all day will do that...I see _you've_ been quite successful. Nice suit, by the way, very stylish, is that a custom job?"

Jessie laughed, beginning to relax, "Oh heavens no! Don't I wish! I can't afford that on my salary...it just fits well." She smoothed the azure, close-fitting jacket and skirt and re-adjusted the silk ribbon at her collar.

Persian, who had been rubbing against her legs, asked, "So how ya been? Whatcha been doin'?"

She began to answer, but was cut off by Gus throwing open his door and bellowing, "HEY! Squealer! Fuzzball! I don't pay you to talk to girls! Get yer asses back on that boat and do your job!"

James rolled his eyes and yelled back sarcastically, "Yes, sir. Right away."  
Persian waved a paw "Yeah, yeah!"

Gus spit out the last bit of his cigar on the ground and slammed the door shut. Jessie snorted, "Well, isn't he pleasant? Also what's with the nicknames?"

James crossed his arms, "That guy is a greedy, lazy idiot. But we'd still better get back; don't want to leave the crew hanging."

Persian added, "And the nicknames, well, he gives everybody one."

"I get Fuzzball, but Squealer?"

James groaned and shook his head, "Ugh...don't ask. Well, maybe I'll tell you. Please tell me you're gonna be around later today?" Internally he was crossing his fingers and pleading she'd say yes.

Jessie nodded, gesturing toward the office, "I have a feeling I'll be around for a bit."

"Great!" Persian stood and gave her leg one last rub, "We'll see ya later then!"

James tried not to dance with happiness. Finally! He's get to see her, talk to her, ask what happened. He said, "Ok! Meet us back here around six. That's when we close up and leave," he saluted, started to turn, then paused, "You will be here, right?"

"Sure, of course." she answered calmly, seeing the mistrust in his eyes and knowing exactly what he was thinking. It hurt her more than she cared to admit.

He nodded slowly, then he and Persian went to rejoin their crew. Hopping back onboard, James was greeted by a barage of whoops and whistles. The first mate ruffled his hair, "Hey who's that, Jim? She's beautiful!"

James grinned and waved them off, "Shut up fellas! She's...an old friend."

A murmur of "hmm's" and knowing looks passed between the men. Persian piped up, "It's true! The three of us used ta travel together. Now are we gonna get these fishies taken care of or what?"

Everyone agreed to roasting James some more later, and all went back to work.

Jessie got back in her car and sat quietly for a moment. She couldn't believe the events of the last few minutes; she had found the best, and only real, friends she had ever had. Not only that, they weren't only not angry at her, they were overjoyed to see her! Now she really regretted her choice...


	6. Story Time

***AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aaaaand I'm back! Took a bit longer than expected but now things have settled down and I'm actually able to write and update again! Hooray! Well, without further ado here's the next chapter!***

A few minutes after six o'clock, the sun was just beginning to sink into the sea, painting the sky and water with shades of rose, gold, and orange. The Wingulls were finding roosts for the evening, and a slight breeze carried the scent of sea air. Jessie was sitting on the hood of her car in front of Gus', waiting. After about twenty minutes, her heart began to sink. Maybe they were intentionally not going to show up, just for revenge. The thought made her angry at first, but the more she mulled it over, the more she felt she may well deserve it. Finally, after another chunk of time, with the sun nearly gone and stars peeking out, Jessie slid from the hood with bitter tears stinging her eyes and pulled out her keys. Suddenly she heard approaching footsteps and voices calling her name. She spun around to see James and Persian running toward her. Her heart leapt-they hadn't forgotten her!

"Guys!" she called happily, waving an arm.

They stopped next to her, panting.  
Persian spoke up first, "Gus kept us all workin' late down at his other place."

"It's a few blocks away," James added, "That's why it took us a bit to get back."

Jessie sighed, "I was beginning to think you'd left me..which I...um..", she tried to change the subject, then what Persian had said hit her, "Wait! His other place? What other place?"

"He's got this office and storehouse," James pointed to the building in front of which they stood, "and then he's got another storehouse, market and canning place down a few blocks." He gestured behind them.

"Waaaait..." she mused, thinking, then snapped her fingers, "That's it! According to his paperwork this is his only property, besides the one he's selling...odd."  
Another breeze kicked up, causing Jessie to shiver. She hadn't counted on it getting this cool so fast.

James noticed and offered, "Hey, come back to our place for a bit! It's small but cozy. We have food and hot drinks!"

"It's the swankiest lil' bachelor pad around, at least we think so!" said Persian proudly.

"That sounds great! Hop in and you can give me directions. And Persian? Try not to get too much hair on the seat. This thing's a rental."

A few minutes later, they slowed in front of a row of tiny cottages set back away from the waterfront along a narrow street.

"That one!" James pointed to a pale blue one with a little porch, "Um..right, parking...not many who live around here have cars. You can park right in front, just try to pull as close as possible."

He and Persian entered first and sheepishly asked her to wait a second. Curiously, she agreed, only to hear the distinct sounds of them trying to straighten the place up in a hurry.

After a minute, James poked his head back out and said, "Ok! Good as it's gonna get!" stepping out onto the porch, he grandly swept his arm and bowed, "M'lady, welcome to our humble abode."

"Good to see you haven't lost your flare for drama!" Jessie grinned, with a mock curtsey.

She walked in and nearly bumped her knees into the arm of a small couch. Edging around it, she looked around, though there wasn't much to see. The inside was as tiny as it looked from the outside; one large room with a kitchenette, a dining table with two chairs, the little couch with a weathered crate to serve as a coffee table, a small TV on a table just big enough to hold it, and a tall, narrow bookshelf in a corner by the bathroom. The walls were a pale cream and the ceiling a sunny yellow. She glanced up to see a short ladder that led to a loft with a fluffy mattress and strings of paper lights strung across the ceiling.

"...Huh. Actually, this is pretty nice for such a modest place." Jessie nodded approvingly, then smirked, "Now where'd you stuff the mess?"

After James and Persian got the showers they both greatly needed, they spent the next couple hours noshing on what food they had on hand, sipping tangy lemonade and talking. Jessie was offered half the couch, with Persian taking the other, and James had pulled up a chair from the dining table.

"So why'd you take off Jess?" Persian asked abruptly.

"Good question, pal," James added, "How about it?"

Jessie paused with her glass halfway to her lips. She couldn't tell them the whole truth, not now...but she could tell them half of it.

"Didn't you find my note?" she asked.

They glanced at each other, then back at her before Persian said, "Kiiiinda..."

"When we woke up, we didn't realize at first you were gone," James explained, the memory painful but needing to tell the story, "So we waited, and while we waited I got breakfast going. I started the fire and lifted the pot-"

"And dat's when I noticed a scrap of paper underneath it!" Persian jumped in, "It was already on fire but I grabbed it anyway-"

"I snatched it from him and slapped the flame out, but by then it was nearly gone. There was only one readable word left...goodbye..."

He clenched his free hand and fought back the tears threatening to start. It hurt more to remember than he had counted on. Finding that bit of burned paper, realizing she had chosen to go on without them, had broken his heart. He had cried more or less constantly for the next couple days until even Meowth got tired of it and told him he'd dry up like a raisin if he didn't stop.

Jessie sighed, "Ok, well, here's the rest; I didn't want to hold you guys back. You wanted out, I wasn't sure. So I figured it would be easier to go our separate ways quickly and neatly instead of any messy, sappy goodbyes later. Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision but it was the only solution I could think of," she leaned back casually, "So now you know."

Persian gave her an understanding nod. However, she noticed James was staring at her intently, with a raised eyebrow and his 'I-know-you're-not-telling-me-everything' expression.

She tried to ignore it, continuing, "When I finally got back to headquarters-got delayed by my bus breaking down twice-they told me I had a new partner. I knew then you guys had managed to get out. This girl was newer, younger than me, and she was utterly ruthless, cold-reminded me of myself when I started out. But..." she glared down into her glass, "When we had completed our mission and returned, I was unceremoniously informed I was fired. Everyone was laughing at me-it was humiliating! Apparently I was already fired before we had even been sent out. I asked why, but the only answer I got besides a death threat if I didn't leave was 'thank your former team mates'. I've wondered all this time what they meant. After that I bounced around between several jobs before I ended up at Mr. Langer's real estate company. I worked my way up from secretary to field agent. That's what brought me here." she looked back up at them, "So now I have to ask...what did they mean?"

James and Persian looked at each other knowingly.  
Persian nodded "You tell it Jimmy. My voice ain't too pleasant for storytellin'."  
He lay down, resting his head on Jessie's lap, purring softly.

Spinning his chair around to rest his arms on the back, James cleared his throat and began, "Well..."

2 YEARS AGO-

"Go on Jimmy, knock!" Meowth encouraged, hiding behind his legs.

He and James stood in front of Giovanni's office door, summoning the will to go in and tell him that they wanted out. After they had found Jessie gone, though they were devastated, they had decided to go ahead and stick with their plan. So upon making it back to headquarters and making mild threats to the guy at the desk (as was an unwritten custom) they were granted an audience. Now, at the threshold, their courage wavered.

Meowth whimpered, "Maybe ta boss is right...we're useless cowards and we'll always be..."

James drew several deep breaths and replied firmly, "No, we're not. At least we don't have to be. We can and must do this," he held out his hand to Meowth in a high-five gesture, "You still with me, Meowth?"

Meowth thought hard for a moment. He was scared, yes, but also didn't want to be a punching bag for the rest of his life. Puffing up his chest, he slapped James's hand and grinned, "Ready!"

James knocked hard several times. Almost immediately they heard Giovanni bellow, "Come in!"

They briefly froze, but then James shoved both doors wide open and strode inside the large, richly decorated office, Meowth at his side. They stopped as close to his desk as they dared. His Persian watched them with a sneer as Meowth glared daggers at him.

"Sir, we have news." James said.

Giovanni glanced up from his work for a moment and raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

James swallowed hard and declared, "I quit. I'm out."

Meowth crossed his arms, "Nyah! Me too! We're done!"

At first, Giovanni seemed to barely react or even notice what they had said. He went on typing while his Persian stared at them with disbelief.

Then, he folded his hands in front of him and said with an unnerving calm, "You quit? Really. Hmm. You do realize you can't quit right? No one just quits Team Rocket. There's three ways out. One is screwing up so bad-worse than you-and you're a liability. The second is you get caught by the authorities. The last," he abruptly stood and roared, "_**is when you're dead!**_"

They shrank back from the sheer force of his anger. He slammed his fist on the desk and continued to rage, "I'm sick and tired of you three screwing up everything I've ever told you to do! The only reason you haven't been fired or taken out-" he paused, "Where's Jessie?!"

James and Meowth glanced at each other.  
"She didn't come back?" Meowth asked.

"Don't tell me she was too scared to face me. Pathetic. I shouldn't be surprised though. She's as much of a worthless fool as you two."

James clenched his fists in anger. As upset as he admittedly was at her vanishing, hearing this evil man berate her just fueled the growing seed of courage in his heart.  
He said, "Actually she wanted to stay. Which is why she's not with us now. But we still quit."

"Did you not hear me a minute ago you buffoon?! You! Don't! Quit!"

"Yes! We! Do! Go on," fueled by adrenaline James threw out his arms, ignoring the pain, "Yell at us all you'd like you overgrown playground bully! Throw a fit! Threaten us! We'll still walk out of here as free men..or, Pokemon. We're tired of the suicide missions, of being treated like garbage, of _you_! WE QUIT!"

James couldn't believe the words coming from his own mouth; here he was facing down one of the most powerful men in the world, the head of Team Rocket itself, someone who just a little while ago he had been mortally terrified of. He didn't know if he was insane, stupid, suicidal or a combination, all he knew for certain was that he felt alive; for the first time in forever he felt like a man and he never wanted to go back.

"Meeowth! You heard my pal! We ain't gonna be under your thumb no more!"

Giovanni's face was bright red as he fumed, "How DARE you speak to me..." he glanced at Persian, who had stood up and was hissing at them. Suddenly, an icy, cruel smile spread across his face. James did not like that expression one bit.

Giovanni sat slowly and cleared his throat, "Gentlemen...perhaps I've been a bit hasty. You want to quit? I have a proposition," he gestured at his Persian, "A battle. My Persian, versus _you_, dear Meowth!" he jabbed a finger at them, "You win, you two go scot-free, no strings attached. I win, you go back to work and never pull this stunt again, or I'll kill you where you stand. Sound fair?"

James gasped; he knew that that Persian was a much higher level than Meowth. He had no chance. Meowth gulped loudly as Persian sneered and growled at him.

"Well?" Giovanni asked casually, lacing his fingers, "Do we have a deal? Or do you two get the hell out of my sight and pray I forgive this little transgression?"

James's shoulders sank, that victorious high fading fast. He felt sick and his wound ached more than ever, "We..."

Meowth stepped forward, "Accept!"


	7. Yet so Far

Stunned, James did a double take, "What?! But Meowth! You know that you-"

The small feline held up a paw, "I know. But dis is somethin' I have ta do-for all of us."

James felt his heart swell and a tear in his eye, "I gotcha, little buddy."

Giovanni rolled his eyes "Oh, how touching. Please spare me. Now then," he stood again and moved from behind the desk, "Persian!"  
The large Pokemon slunk down from his perch on the desk and stalked forward, pupils narrowed and teeth bared.

James backed up a ways and said, "Meowth! You ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" he replied, crouching on all fours and also baring his fangs.

Giovanni wasted no time in starting the battle,"Persian! Bite!" he called.

Persian leapt at Meowth with startling speed and clamped down on his leg. Meowth yowled in pain and furiously kicked with his back feet at Persian's face. Managing to twist around he chomped down on Persian's ear. He released Meowth with a snarl, jumping away.

"Hey Meowth! You've got those claws! Fury Swipe!" James said to him.

Meowth grinned despite his injury, unsheathing his needle-sharp claws and launching at Persian-who managed to dodge him! Quickly spinning back around, he tried to slash at him, but Persian swatted him onto the floor. He held Meowth down with his front paws, sinking his own claws into the smaller cat as he writhed desperetaly to get away. Giovanni held up a finger and Persian obediently paused.

"Give it up, you fools. You both know it's hopeless."

James's heart raced; he didn't want to give in, but he also couldn't stand to see Meowth in so much pain. "Meowth!" he cried, "Come on..."

With a furious growl, Meowth managed to spit, "Never!"

His mind raced; the pain was agonizing and as much as he willed himself to, he knew there was no way to beat this much stronger opponent. Not in this current state anyway. Everything was on the line; their freedom, their very lives and here he was, failing them both miserably. That pain was almost worse than the physical agony. He knew it all fell to him but how; HOW?! Delirious and terrified, he suddenly felt a sense of strength and calm wash through him...

Still pinned underneath Persian, Meowth's fur began to shimmer-then his whole body lit up in a vivid glow! "Mrrrah?!" Persian yowled, as confused as everyone else watching. Meowth's form gleamed and swiftly changed shape, growing until he was three times his previous size. The burst of energy sent Persian flying into the wall, stunning him momentarily. He shakily got to his feet to find himself facing-another Persian! To everyone's astonishment, Meowth had evolved! He opened his now red eyes, bared his fangs, and crouched.

"Meowth?!" James wondered.

Giovanni spat angrily, "No matter-Persian! Get back in there and finish him off!"

Still wobbly, Persian didn't have time to recover before Meowth was on him, slashing and biting. The two were locked in a spinning, snarling ball of fur and teeth and claws. Finally, one Persian lay on his side, mewling and defeated with the other looming over, victorious.

Confident, Giovanni laughed, "And it's over. Nice try boys, but I knew my Persian wouldn't let me down. Come here my friend; you've earned yourself a reward!"

The standing feline cocked his head and hissed, "I don't think so."

Giovanni's smile fell and James laughed, running to him and embracing him, "Meowth! You're okay! And wow! You evolved!"

"Gee, I didn't notice." Meowth grinned, licking his paw.

Without another word, Giovanni sat back down at his desk and began working again. James stood and cautiously ventured, "Sooo...the deal? We're free?"

"You're ALL fired. Get out." Giovanni spat.

Meowth and James looked at each other and nodded. Turning to leave, as a final gesture James pulled off his gloves and white over shirt emblazoned with a red "R", tossing them on the floor. As they walked out the door, they heard Giovanni snap, "Go to hell!"

"See you there." replied James coldly over his shoulder as he and now-evolved Meowth strode out of the building, free at last.

PRESENT-

Jessie stared at them, blinking in disbelief, "No. _Way_. Well, that does explain things."

James chuckled, "Heh heh! I'll never forget the look on his face when he realized he had lost. Unfortunately, the side effect of our victory was Meowth losing his ability to speak-well, partially."

Persian nodded, "It only took a few minutes for us ta realize I was losin' it. When we left, I was only able ta say a few more words before I could barely speak at all. Took me a while ta re-learn. As you can hear I'm still not back ta where I was."

"I thought you never wanted to evolve."

Persian's shoulder's slumped, "I didn't. Not eva. But it just sorta happened. I wanted ta win and get us outta dere so bad dat...well I guess deep down I knew it was ta only way. Heh," he shrugged, "I gotta admit it ain't so bad. You see dese claws? I can slice n' dice twice as nice now!"

Jessie stroked his head and smiled, "So where'd you go next?"

"Well, we got out of there, first off, " James said, "We had to. By the time we reached the front desk, we were told we had fifteen minutes to leave the city and one day to leave the region or else...you can guess. We wandered around, trying to get jobs where we could. Got a few good ones. Got the boot-quite literally sometimes- for one reason or another. About a year back we ended up here and well, been here ever since."

The wall clock began to chime, and Jessie suddenly realized how late it was getting-and that she was supposed to be back to her office tomorrow morning! She stood quickly and explained, "Guys I hate to do this-I mean this has been wonderful but I have to go. I'm due back in the morning..."

Both guys looked visibly disappointed. Persian's ears drooped and he sighed. James's eyes were so full of sorrow it broke Jessie's heart. Seeing their faces, she realized what had to be done.

She whipped out her cellphone and held up one finger, "Hold on."

Dialing and praying there was someone still there, it only took a couple rings before an overly cheerful voice asked, "Mr. Langer's office, Marie speaking, our office is closed now but may I help you?"

James and Persian heard only Jessie's half of the conversation, which went like, "Marie, it's Jessie. I need to-...yes, I'm fine...no...listen I'm gonna be here a bit longer...I don't know! This guy is an idiot. I'll-...yeah, yeah...geez, YOU think of something to tell him! And...NO! No, here, just...oh, you got it! See you later! Kisses!" and hung up.

She turned back to them, fuming, "That girl is hopeless!" then smiled, "But the good news is that I'm sticking around after all!"

Persian perked his ears back up and practically wagged his tail, "Hooray!"

James was relieved; he couldn't stand to see her go so soon, plus he had plans in mind.  
He clapped his hands and stood, "Oh goody! You can go with us to the summer carnival then! It starts tomorrow. There's a lot to see and do; you'll love it!"

"Sounds like fun! But what about _your_ jobs?"

"Ah, Gus knows no one ever shows up to work the first couple days of the carnival, including him, so he just gives us all the time off," James replied, "Say, you want to stay here with us tonight? We'll camp out on the floor for old times sake? I could even grab some dirt for authenticity!"

Jessie shook her head, "Um, thanks, but I get a company-paid hotel room while I'm on the road and, well, I hate to not take advantage..." an idea crossed her mind, "Say, why don't you two come stay with me? I'll sneak you in."

Persian stood up too, "Oh boy! Would you? You got a hot tub in dat place? Room service?"

Jessie chuckled, "Hot tub, no. Room service, well..." she pulled out a credit card with a wink, "Travel expenses, right?"

A couple hours later, after she had smuggled them in and ordered food (the waiter looked at her suspiciously as he wheeled in a small cart with far too much for one person), they sat around channel surfing and adding commentary until Persian yawned loudly and suggested they get some sleep if they wanted to go tomorrow. He walked over to a rug near the window, turned in a circle several times, then flopped down on his back, one paw in the air, and was almost instantly snoring.

James laughed, "He may have evolved, but some things don't change..."

Jessie smiled sadly and slid open the glass door leading to the room's little balcony. Stepping outside, she leaned on the railing and loudly sighed. Curiously, James went to join her. A half moon in the clear, starry sky left a faint, silvery veil over the ocean. They were quiet for a few minutes, until Jessie broke the silence with, "I tried to find you guys, you know."

"Hmm?"

"I realized pretty quick I made a mistake, so I started searching for you," she looked up at the stars, remembering, "After I left headquarters, I knew I needed new employment, but also to find you two. I hoped you both were still together, anyway. So I got a job at a police station-ironic, isn't it? I needed access to databases; jobs, addresses, criminal charges, anything to try and pinpoint your location. Got fired because of it. They said I wasn't 'using my time properly'. Whatever. Moved on to a bank teller position...was fired for basically the same reason. I didn't care because I had found your last known location. But by the time I got there, I was told you two were already long gone. Next I worked for an insurance company in Lilycove. Hated it, but at least I figured out how to cover my tracks so I could freely continue my search. Found you a second time, but again, you were already gone..." she felt her eyes tearing up, "I was really beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you guys again. About six months ago I left them and started at my current job. I kept trying, but couldn't find any leads. And then out of the blue," she turned her head to look at him, "found you."

"We looked for you too, but couldn't find out anything," he responded, trying to concentrate on his words instead of her sapphire eyes, "At first we had nothing except word of mouth and whatever computers I managed to get into for info. Got kicked out of a few Pokemon Centers and library's; apparently hacking into government files is frowned upon. Like you, we didn't have much luck. While doing that we just roamed about, found what work we could, enjoyed the freedom. A year ago we landed on Gus's doorstep and he told us he'd give us a shot..well, we must have done something right because he's kept us ever since, despite his frequent threats to kick us to the curb. Still we kept searching...and then out of the blue," he smiled widely, "found you!"

Jessie turned and embraced him tightly, burying her face in his neck. Oh god she'd missed this; how many times in the past two years when she was scared, joyful or just lonely had she desperately wished he was there? Far too many, she thought. He stiffened for a moment, startled by her sudden affection. He then warmly hugged her back, hoping she wouldn't notice his pounding heart and thanking the powers that be she was in his arms again.

Her voice muffled, she said, "I've been a terrible friend, haven't I? I broke our promise to stick together, I let you guys face the boss alone..."

"Umm..." he bit his lip, "I think maybe...a little selfish. Scared, confused...but not terrible."

She looked up at him, "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."

With one hand he cupped her cheek and said very seriously, "I could _never_ hate you."

It hit them both how close their faces were. Looking into each other's eyes, the same instinct came to mind. Slowly, they inched closer together, both wanting, needing the same thing, their lips barely touching before-

A loud, shattering crash scared them half to death and snapped them back to reality!

"Aaah!" they cried, "What the-?!"

They peeked in the room-to find a toppled end table and broken lamp on the floor, with Persian's paw still twitching near it. He merrily snored away.

"He must have kicked it over..." Jessie grumbled, "Great. That's gonna be fun to explain..."

They glanced at one another, both silently cursing the interruption and knowing the moment was gone.

"Yeeaah, sorry about that...well, um, we really should get some rest," sighed James, looking around, "Oh right...one bed, I'll take the floor then."

After taking turns getting into their pajamas in the bathroom, Jessie hit the lights and slid into bed, with James grabbing an extra comfortor and stretching out near Persian-but out of kicking range.

"Good night Jess!"

"Good night, James."

For a little while, save the distant hum of city traffic, all was quiet. Even Persian's snoring had dropped to a soft purr. Jessie stared at the ceiling, tired but unable to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, James was having the same problem. Both wrestled with similar questions in their minds; now what? They had found each other, yes, and it was wonderful, but how would they work things out now?  
Could they?  
Jessie heard him let out a long, sad sigh-the kind that meant he felt terribly lost and forlorn. Throwing off the sheets, she ripped the blanket off and took it with her to where her team mates were. James sat up and looked at her curiously as she tossed the blanket down next to him and flopped onto it, wrapping part of it around herself.

"There. Now it feels like old times."

He grinned, laying back down, "Except our stomachs are full."

"Touche," she reached out her hand, "James...?"

"Yeah?" he entangled his fingers with hers.

'Say it you coward!' she thought, then gulped, "...I..good night."

He squeezed her hand, "Sweet dreams..."


	8. Crossed Lines

Late the next morning, after breakfast and getting dressed, they started to sneak out. Only a little ways down the hall, however, they ran into one of the concierge's!

He folded his hands behind his back and looked at them suspiciously, "I was just coming to check on things, miss. Our waiter informed me of your, er-hem, appetite last night and I just wanted to make sure everything was...in order."

Jessie tried to laugh casually but it came out as nervous, "Oh! Oh yes! Everything is fine! I just _adore_ your establishment! Thank you _so_ much for asking! Well, I must be going! Busy busy!"

She grabbed James and Persian and started to drag them off, but the concierge stopped them with, "Just a moment, if you please!"

They paused, swallowing hard before turning, "...Yes?" said the two humans; Persian decided to keep his mouth shut.

The concierge sighed, "Miss, we do our best to accommodate our guests and their needs. We do, however, have a policy of frowning upon, shall I say," he cleared his throat, "hired companionship..."

James felt his face go bright red, "You think I'm-?!" he looked down at his button-up green shirt and dress slacks, "Honestly!"

Jessie sputtered indignantly, "How-how dare you! He's a-a good friend come to-oh, I don't need to explain myself to you! Guys, we're outta here!"

She turned on her heel with a huff and stomped away, James and Persian following close behind.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?!" She continued to fume as they stepped outside, "Suggesting that I would-!"

James pouted, "Hey, how do you think _I _feel?"

"...I don't get it. Whatcha so mad about?" asked Persian.

They glanced at each other, then grumbled, "We'll explain later..."

Finally making it to the carnival, they picked up their tickets and went inside.

"Wow!" Jessie exclaimed once they had entered the main gates, "This is quite the festival!"

A whirlwind of lights, sounds, colors, and smells enveloped them. Banners announcing, "WELCOME SUMMER!" and countless strings of paper suns crisscrossed the walkways, food stands advertised their treats, game tenders called out their games, and everywhere you looked there was something to see or do.

James grabbed her hand and laughed, "C'mon! We know all the best places!"

Persian added, "Namely the food! Heh heh!"

After they had had their fill of various goodies, they were walking by the games when one young man called out, "Heeey! Hey hey hey! Lovely lady and the dude with the Persian!"

James looked at him, "Hmm? Yes?"

The kid grinned and waved his arm around,"You wanna take a chance and win the grand prize today? C'mon, it's only fifty cents for three tries! Whattaya say? Ladies first?" he lobbed a ball to Jessie, who barely caught it, "First one's free!"

They looked at each other, and Jessie shrugged, stepping up to the counter. Lined up along the back tent wall were five baskets, angled slightly downward.

"All ya gotta do is get all three balls in a basket, or one ball," the kid pointed to a sixth and even smaller basket sitting up near the ceiling, "in THAT one!"

Jessie chuckled, "Hmph! Piece of cake! I got this."

Taking a pitcher's stance, she took aim, threw her ball, and started to cheer when it landed neatly in an upper basket-then stopped when it promptly bounced back out. The kid shrugged, "Ooops! Oh well! Maybe next time, huh?"

Jessie's eye twitched, and she thrust a hand in James's direction, "Fifty cents!"

James quickly dug the change from his pocket and placed it in her open palm; he knew that look of determined rage and that there was no stopping it.

She slapped it on the counter, and the kid handed her three balls. Her first throw landed in the same basket but again boucned out, her second missed entirely, and the third actually stayed in-but in a lower basket.

The kid feigned pity, "Oh dear! Great job miss, really you did try _so_ hard! ...Want another go?"

Jessie snarled, "Buzz off!" and started to stomp away, but James grabbed her hand, "Hold on! Let me try! I'll win it for you!"

Scowling, she said, "It's a scam, you know. Don't even bother."

He grinned and flexed his arm, " Leave it to me! I didn't spend all this time on a fishing vessel without something to show for it!"

Persian laughed, "Sunburns don't count!"

The game tender gaped, "A-a talking Persian! Wowza! Here, I'll give you a second try free!" he dropped three balls in front of James, "Hey! Persian! Good kitty! Say something else willya!?"

Persian rolled his eyes, "Whattaya want, my biography?"

James picked up the first ball, "This one's for you, Jess!" and let it fly-where it promptly bounced out of a basket. "Hehe!" he laughed sheepishly, "Just warming up!" He bit his lip, "C'mon c'mon!"

Jessie was trying not to stare at his arms, or his more muscular physique in general-part of her felt shallow, but hey, she wasn't going to deny how good he looked-she shook her head to clear it. 'Get a hold of yourself woman!' she scolded herself silently.

He threw his second shot-and also missed. With a frustrated growl, he grabbed his last ball, snarled, "Forget it!" and hurled it haphazardly-where it ricocheted off of a basket, then the wall, then the ceiling and landed neatly in the uppermost, tiny basket.

All parties stared in astonishment. James quickly cleared his throat, crossed his arms and said coolly, "Perfect! Exactly what I planned!"

Both Persian and Jessie shot him a 'yeah-right' look.  
The kid scratched his head, "Well, that's that! Congratulations! You won the grand prize!" He turned and grabbed something from under the counter. Standing back up, he thrust it out to them, "Ta-daaa!"

The trio froze; it was a large stuffed Pikachu. The kid squeezed it, and it spoke, "Pi-ka-chuuu!"

All three slowly looked at each other, and in unison, began to snort, then quickly broke out in full, body-shaking fits of laughter.

James took it from the thoroughly confused game tender and held it aloft triumphantly, "At long last! The Pikachu is ours!"

Wiping tears from her eyes, Jessie added, "I always knew we could do it!"

They walked away still chuckling, hand-in-hand, Persian carrying their prize in his mouth.

'I'm gonna have so much fun shreddin' this thing!' he thought to himself.

They spent much of the day at the carnival, enjoying the sights, shows, food, and each other's company. Around mid afternoon they went to the gates, and James suggested they head to a favorite haunt of theirs.

"It's not far from our place, we know the owners, and they have some of the best drinks in town!" he said.

Persian grinned, "We're regulars!"

"I'll take your word for it..." Jessie replied.

As it was only a few blocks from the festival, they opted to walk and enjoy the early summer afternoon. The boardwalk teemed with people, some going to and from their jobs, and many others heading toward the carnival, which had just switched on their lights. It's reflection sparkled off the bay waters. They soon approached an unassuming looking, wood-frame building wedged between two newer stucco ones. A weather-beaten sign swung in the breeze, and Jessie looked up to read it. Her eyebrow shot up.

"The...Lusty Mermaid?!" she sputtered, then glared at them, "What kind of place are you taking me to!?"

James waved his hands, "No no no! Don't worry! It's-it's a nice place! We promise!"

"Depends on your definition! Heh!" Persian grinned.

"Quiet, you!"

She was hesitant and lagged behind as they entered, but once inside she had to admit they were right; it's sign and outward appearance contrasted sharply with the interior. Warm oak paneling lined the walls, which were covered in an eclectic array of photos, art, and objects. Tables were neatly arranged and decorated with cream tablecloths and vases of fresh flowers, each with a unique stained-glass lamp overhead. The bar was built of massive, polished timbers, and likewise smartly decorated. A small stage occupied one section of the room. The place was busy, no doubt because of the festival. A waiter, after greeting them, quickly ushered them to one of the only open tables.

"So, didn't I tell you it's nice?" James grinned smugly as he noticed her smiling and looking around.

"Fine, it is. But with a name like that, you can't blame me."

Persian hopped up on his own chair, "It used ta be a rough place, kinda a dump. But the new owner took it over and cleaned it up...kept the name outta tradition."

James was looking at the specials and announcement board, "Ooh! I forgot! It's karaoke night!"

A bottle suddenly flew at his head, and he yelped, barely dodging it. They turned to see two guys at an adjacent table laughing and jeering. He recognized them as fellow regulars, "Hey! What was that for?"

"What's your problem?!" Jessie snapped.

"Sorry miss, but the last time he did karaoke," the one man said, "he gave us all a headache!"

"You were terrible, James, butchering that poor song! Trust us, we're doing everyone a favor!" the other added.

James sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, "Give me a break you guys! I'd uh, had a couple drinks!"

Their waitress, who had come over with water glasses, piped up with a giggle, "I'll say! You were so out of it you didn't even remember my name! You pulled me onto your lap-you naughty boy-and called me Jessie! Hee hee!"

She swaggered away, throwing a coy wink over her shoulder and leaving a mortified James to deal with the dagger-eyed looks he was getting. The same two guys howled with laughter.

"Oh really!?" Jessie hissed, her fingers tapping the table.

James put his hands up defensively, "Jess! C'mon! I was really, really drunk! You saw her! She has long red hair and blue eyes too and I-I was really missing you that day and-" he slapped a hand over his face and groaned, "I'm not helping am I?"

Persian snickered, "Keep diggin', Jimmy!"

Just then the doors flew open, and in strode three tall, burly, loud men. They all wore filthy canvas work-pants and button-up blue shirts, but the one in the middle had his unbuttoned, no doubt to show off his numerous tattoos. They whooped and laughed as they made their way to the bar, "accidentally" bumping into people.

Persian jabbed James with his paw and whined, "Ah crap! It's them again!"

As they passed their table, he and James quickly looked down and away, trying to avoid them but they paused anyway when their obvious leader spied Jessie.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Ahoy gentlemen! And who do we have here?" he grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to her, wedging himself between her and James.

Resting an elbow on the table he said, "Haven't seen _you_ around here before! My name's Gregory! You can call me Greg, or whatever you want doll-face!" He winked and ran a hand through his close-cut blonde hair.

Jessie wrinkled her nose and leaned away, "Get lost, fish-breath!"

Greg's smile dropped and his buddies guffawed at him. He then spied James-Persian had slunk under the table-and loudly said, "Well well well! Squealer! Long time no see!" He clapped a hand on his back so hard he winced.

"Not long enough..." James grumbled.

"Why _do_ they call you that?" asked Jessie quietly.  
He tried to give her a 'not-now' gesture but it was too late; Greg had overheard her.

"Oh! That's a gem! Right guys?!" his friends snickered, and he loudly continued, "Ya see, one day not too long after our little buddy here...say where's that darn cat of yours? Oh well. Anyhoo, after he joined our company-he was on my boat at the time-we were out trawllin' and pulled up an Octillery. Now, this thing was hoppin' mad, and instead of lettin' him cool down a bit, James here went over and pulled him outta the net-think he felt sorry for it or somethin'. Well, that Octillery decided to clamp onto his face! So here's James, hoppin' around the deck with that Pokemon glued to his head and squealin' like a little girl! After we managed to stop laughing we helped him get it off. The sucker marks stayed for hours though. Heh heh heh! So now you know!"

Greg, his friends, and several other people nearby were having a good laugh while James scowled at the table, utterly humiliated. He gripped his chair while fighting off the urge to cry; he was already embarrassed enough. Jessie now regretted saying anything, and hated this Greg even more.

Greg chuckled, "So anyway, how ya doing buddy? Ah, you're not gonna be sore about me tellin' your lovely lady that story are ya? Ah, 'course you're not! Say, uh, I don't suppose you could introduce her to me? What's her name?"

Jessie bristled, "Didn't I tell you to get lost once already? Don't make me do it again!"

With a snort, Greg said, "Fine. Say mystery woman, wanna ditch the loser and hang out with a real man?" He reached over and grabbed her hand!

James clenched his fists. He had been keeping his mouth shut, knowing that Jessie could handle herself, and also hoping Greg would go away. But now he didn't see that happening, and he felt his anger and adrenaline building.

Jessie smacked him away, "Don't touch me!"  
Besides the fishiness she could also smell the alcohol on his breath.

Greg, visibly mad, stood and grabbed her arm, "C'mon beautiful! Don't you-"

"_Don't-Touch-Me!_"

Wrenching her arm away, Jessie delivered a sharp kick, causing Greg to fall on his rear. By now the other patrons had stopped to warily watch the developing scuffle. James was on his feet, ready to run or fight if need be, and Persian had popped out of hiding for the same reason. Slowly standing up, rubbing his side, Greg suddenly and savagely slapped her across the face! She yelped and stumbled back a step, then whipped around-to see James leap at him like lightning, throwing his full weight into such a vicious punch to the jaw that Greg dropped like a rock!


	9. Old Times and New

_****A/N: Okay, okay...when I initially wrote this chapter I had NO idea that Arbok and Weezing were gone. When I did find out, I still decided for several reasons not to change it. So sorry if my cannon goes a little wobbly here. Enjoy it anyway?****_

Jessie and Persian both stared, dumbfounded.

He went to her, "Are you okay?!"

She nodded, stunned by his sudden ferocity, "Did..did _you_ just..?"

"Who are you are where's our Jimmy?" Persian joked.

Every person has their breaking point, and seeing Jessie get hurt like that, be treated that way, had been his. He turned to face Greg, still on the floor, rocking in pain and holding his mouth. He pulled his hand away to find it bloody with a broken tooth in his palm.

Looking up, he growled, "Oh, you've done it now pal!"

"Touch her again, and I'll break something else!" James snapped, raising a clenched fist.

He stepped back as Greg got to his feet, furious and cursing, "That's it, you lil' shit! Think you're so tough? Let's go, right now! I'll rip your puny head right off!"

James stood his ground, "Try it!"

He still felt his blood boiling, that anger and adrenaline he hadn't known this strongly since he had faced Giovanni. It scared him a little, but deep down he had to admit; it felt kinda good. 'Why now?' he thought; it wasn't like he hadn't been kicked around in the time since. Then he realized-now, as then, he was fighting for something truly worthwhile.

Grabbing his shoulder, Jessie exclaimed, "James, stop it! What's gotten into you?! There's no way-"

The owner ran out from his office, rang a brass bell over the bar and yelled at them, saying they needed to knock it off or get out.

His friends, who had been watching uncertainly and knew well enough to stay out of Greg's numerous scuffles, stepped closer to him and finally asked, "Um...you ok man?"

Greg sneered, made all the eerier by his bloodied mouth. Wiping his sleeve across his face he said, "Swell, guys. Say, I've got a better idea than this. Hey, Doug? Baily? Who's up for a battle? Us versus Mr. Tough-Guy here?" he pulled out a Pokeball, "Machamp needs a good workout. C'mon; let's take this outside."

His friends laughed and agreed, pulling out their own Pokeballs. Still chuckling, they pushed past several customers on their way out. James started to step forward, but Jessie, her pride and face still stinging, snatched his wrist.

She said haughtily, "Look, I don't need you to fight my battles for me! He's mine!"

"I'm not," he replied, pulling his wrist away and clasping her hand, "I'm fighting them _with_ you. We'll show them who they're messing with, together!"

She paused, at a rare loss for words. He broke into that big, cheerful grin that until now, she hadn't realized how much she had missed and it hit her-of course he wasn't sticking up for her because he felt she was weak, he did it because even now, after all this time, he still considered them partners.

Her heart swelled, "That sounds great. Say, I think they should prepare for trouble!"

"Ha, they'd better make it double!"

Persian piped up, "Mrah! How about triple? There's three of them an' three of us!"

They all slapped their hands, or paw, together and in unison cheered "Go team!" before striding out the doors.

Once outside, they found their opponents already lined up and waiting, their Pokemon released and itching for a fight almost as much as their masters. Greg's Machamp flexed it's four arms, Doug's Ursuring growled, showing it's huge teeth, and Baily's Fearow snapped it's beak at them. A group of onlookers had begun to gather, murmuring to each other excitedly.

As the trio began to take their places opposite them, Greg jabbed his finger at them, "Hey! I challenged one of you, not all three!"

"See, that's where you're wrong," Jessie grinned as she stopped in front of him and took out a pokeball, "We're a team!"

James pulled out his own pokeball, "You mess with one of us..."

"And you mess with all of us!" Persian finished, baring his fangs.

Greg laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, yeah, I get it; a regular three musketeers. Now what Pokemon do ya have for us to smash today?"

As they had done countless times, Jessie and James tossed their Pokeballs in unison and called out their names.  
"Arbok!"  
"Weezing!"

The two poison types emerged and took battle positions-until they caught sight of each other and each other's trainers! Arbok hissed happily and slithered over to James, tightly wrapping itself around him and giving an affectionate squeeze.  
Gasping for air, James squeaked, "Missed you too Arbok!"

Meanwhile, Weezing was lovingly bumping against Jessie and puffing out bursts of smoke. She tried to push him away, coughing, "Yes! Hello, Weezing! Ack!"

Managing to pry them off, the Pokemon re-assumed battle stances; Arbok facing Machamp, Weezing against Ursaring and Persian with Fearow.

Greg wasted no time in attacking, "Machamp! Mega Punch! Crush that snake!" Machamp lept and swung an arm toward Arbok.

"Arbok! Dodge him and use Wrap!" Jessie called.

Arbok easily moved aside, whipped around and wound himself around Machamp's arms and neck! Squeezing tightly, Machamp croaked and attemtped to shake him off, to no avail.

At the same time, Persian sneered, "This birdie is cat food!" and leapt at Fearow.

Baily called, "Oh no you don't! Fearow, Drill Peck!"  
Fearow barely dodged Persian's claws and stabbed his razor-sharp beak toward him! He managed to scrape Persian's back, who yowled, landed, then spun around and leapt again, this time clamping onto Fearow's long neck with a powerful Bite attack. The weight dragged Fearow nearly to the ground, who screeched and flapped to free himself.

Meanwhile, Doug laughed, "This is gonna be easy! Ursaring! Headbutt!" The bear roared and dashed forward, lowering his head.

James grinned calmly, "Weezing, Smoke Screen!"

Weezing let out a thick, noxious cloud of smoke, obscuring the entire battle area. Ursuring continued his charge anyway, and ended up slamming into a utility pole! Spectators cried out and scattered. Ursaring shook his head and turned around-only to be knocked back by Weezing's Tackle! Fearow's flapping quickly cleared the smoke and the battle raged on. Arbok, Weezing and Persian were holding their own, but it became clear the trio needed a strategy to win.

"We need a good plan, and fast!" James said.

Jessie looked at him, "Do you think-the 'Triple Trouble'?"

Persian was panting hard, "We haven't pulled that in ages! We-" he suddenly grinned, "On second thought, yeah! 'Specially now that I have a secret weapon!"

James clicked his fingers, "Ooh! That's right!"

"Secret weapon?" wondered Jessie.

"You'll see!" James winked, "Ok then!" he turned back to the battle, "Weezing! You know the plan! One more Smokescreen!"

The Pokemon nodded, and unleashed the biggest, nastiest cloud of smog he could manage.

Greg yelled, "That's not gonna work again!"

"Arbok! Confusion! Round 'em up!" called Jessie.

Arbok darted through the smoke, facing all three opponent Pokemon at once. Rearing up to his full height, his eyes glowed crimson and he swayed hypnotically. All of them started to mimic Arbok, then suddenly turned on each other, slashing and biting!  
"HEY!" Greg, Baily and Doug all cried, trying in vain to bring them under control.

James laughed gleefully, "And now, Persian-use Hyper Beam!"

Doing a double take, Jessie yelped, "Hy-_**Hyper Beam!?**_"

Persian lept high in the air, the jewel on his forehead glowing brightly. A burst of light swirled around it, nad with a ferocious yowl he unleashed a huge, burning-hot beam of energy straight at their enemies! It sliced through the smoke and hit them dead on. The smog cleared to reveal Machamp, Fearow, and Ursuring all on the ground, knocked out cold.

The trio cheered triumphantly and hugged each other.  
"We did it!" Jessie giggled.

"Winning feels awesome!" Persian purred.

"That's what happens when you mess with us!" James smirked, flicking his bangs.

They and their opponents recalled their respective Pokemon, and Greg stepped forward, "Good battle guys..." he said, humbled, "That _was_ a really good strategy. I uh...owe ya an apology. Mystery lady? I...I'm sorry. Sque-I mean, James? Again, I'm sorry. I've been a real jackass, I know. Seeing how you lot stick together...well, maybe I can learn something from this. Maybe. Heh. Um...see ya around, I guess. C'mon fellas..."

He and his slightly bewildered friends turned and walked away. The crowd dispersed, talking about what a cool battle that had been.

Persian sighed and sat down heavily, "I dunno about you guys, but all that fightin' made me hungry."

"You're always hungry! But yeah," James looked back at the tavern, "Not sure if we're allowed back in there after this. Hmm..."

"It was worth it though," Jessie grinned, "So now where to?"

He turned back to answer and noticed the raw, red patch on her face where she had been slapped. Reaching out, he pulled her into a hug and gingerly touched it. She winced, and he said "I'm so sorry..."

"For what? It's not your fault. And hey; we got even, didn't we? Jeez, it's not like I haven't been electrocuted, half-drowned, stomped on, thrown around, blown up, scratched up et cetera around you before!"

"I know but..." he trailed off.

Again they realized how close they were holding each other and felt that static in the air. Jessie brushed a few stray hairs from his face and smiled softly, blushing and leaning toward him. James's heart raced and he too started to lean in, tilting her chin up slightly.  
'I've waited far too long for this...' they both thought.  
Meanwhile, Persian rolled his eyes and turned away to groom his matted fur.

Suddenly, a Zizagoon darted between their legs, immediately followed by a little girl! She crashed head-on into them, knocking everyone off balance!

Regaining her footing, Jessie whipped around and snarled, "Watch where you're going you little brat!"

"Can't you control your own Pokemon?!" snapped James, frustrated at his romantic attempts being foiled again.

The girl grabbed her Zigzagoon, turned and whimpered, "I'm-I'm sorry...Ziggy is really young and he's still learning-"

"Well have him learn faster! Go on now, scat!" grumbled Jessie, waving her away.

With a bow and another apology the girl ran off.

Watching her go, Jessie shook her head and muttered in disgust, "Hmph! Kids...always ruining things."


	10. Hearts Revealed

A minute later, conversation again turned to food. James had been formulating a plan in his head all day, and he decided that the time was ripe for putting it into action.

He cleared his throat, "Um...regarding food, well, I have an idea, but we gotta go home for a bit...meet us back there in a couple hours...say around seven? You can grab a snack from room service in the meantime just don't eat too much...okay?"

She raised her eyebrow, "What are you up to?" then shrugged, "Well, okay...guess I _could _use a shower after all this."

He attempted not to picture that but failed, "Sounds good! See you then!" and grabbed Persian, who tried to protest and ask what was going on, but was quickly dragged away.

Jessie stood there for a second, arms crossed and pondering what he was thinking, then deciding she'd find out soon enough, made her way back to her hotel.

At approximately six-thirty, Jessie was fixing her hair when a knock came at the door. She opened it, only to find Persian standing there, wearing a bow-tie and holding an envelope in his mouth.

"Persian?" she asked with a laugh and taking the paper from him, "What's this about? Nice bow-tie, by the way."

He answered with a deep bow, "We'd be honored with your presence, m'lady...Jimmy insisted I wear and say this...please say yes..." and padded off.

She clutched the envelope to her chest for a moment before opening it, dying of curiosity but knowing this was something special. It was in James's best handwriting, in a calligraphic style she had never before seen.  
It read 'I invite you, my dear Jessica, to our humble abode for a formal dinner. Please reply with your presence at seven o'clock sharp. I look forward to your arrival. Your humble servant, James.'  
She stared at it, smiling. Of course she'd be there...

Knock! Knock! At seven sharp, Jessie rapped on the door of their cottage. When on her business trips, she always packed a more formal outfit, just in case. This was the first time she could remember having a reason to wear it; a sapphire blue, knee-length dress and matching heels. Her hair was pinned up in a neat bun. Silence greeted her for a moment, though she clearly heard excited voices inside. Then the door opened, and she found Persian standing there, looking midly annoyed.

"Please, m'lady, enter..." he said, turning and leading her inside, where she looked around and gasped.

The strings of paper lights had multiplied, and now they were on, filling the cottage with soft light. The furniture had been rearranged so as to clear a small space in the middle of the room. Several vases of fresh flowers were placed on available surfaces, lending a sweet perfume to the air. Then she saw James standing by the dining table, wearing a flatteringly cut, deep charcoal-gray suit and tie. He had shaved, and his hair was pulled neatly back with a black ribbon instead of a scrap of twine. She paused for a second, not used to seeing him like this. In their time together, she had seen him in everything from their uniforms to numerous disguises to swim trunks, but now he suddenly looked every bit the proper gentleman he had been raised to be.

Folding his arms behind his back, he smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, I wanted to take you somewhere really nice...but, well, I can't afford it. So, I brought somewhere really nice to you!"

She clasped her hands, "It's perfect..."

Walking up to her, he took her one hand and with a small bow, kissed it gently, "You look amazing."

Still holding it, he led her the few steps to the table, which was elegantly set with a white tablecloth, a couple candles, and a vase containing several roses. He pulled a chair out for her, then sat himself.

Persian, now wearing a chef's hat, came up and stood with his front paws on the table, "Good evening. Tonight's special is fresh lobster with herb butter, with a side of wild rice pilaf and a spring mix salad with ginger-citrus dressing. Desert is still baking. Would you care for some wine?"

Jessie snorted and covered her mouth, "Why yes! Thank you! And the special sounds lovely! I'll take it."

"I'll have the special too. And waiter? Bring us your best wine!"

Persian glared at him, "We've only got the one you-! Oh right...yes, of course. Right away, sir..." He stepped back down and padded over to the fridge, mumbling about how ridiculous he felt.

Jessie shook her head, "You guys are something else. But how did you manage all this in just a couple hours? And how did you afford lobster?"

James replied, "It wasn't easy! I ran to the nearest store to grab the food we didn't have on hand, plus the flowers. The lobster, well...Persian took care of that."

He came back with the bottle of wine in his jaws and placed it on the table, "Sure did...heh heh."

"You stole them didn't you!" Jessie smirked.

"Old habits die hard," said James with a shrug as he poured the wine, "Once we got back, we took care of everything else. And dear Persian here agreed to be our waiter!"

"Agreed?!" he sputtered, "You begged me! If you wasn't my friend..." He went back to pulling plates from a cupboard and prepping the food.

Jessie lifted her wine glass, "So, to what should we toast?"

James picked up his own glass and stared at it for a moment, thinking. He knew what he wanted to say, but wasn't sure the timing was right, so instead he replied, "To old friends, and new beginnings..."

"Here, here." she agreed, taking a swig.

Persian came over and carefully slid a plate in front of her, then did the same for James. Each contained one still-steaming lobster, with the salad and pilaf neatly arranged around it.

She squealed in delight, "This is wonderful! Now all we're missing is music."

James clicked his fingers with a smile, and rolling his eyes again, Persian went to their CD player next to the couch and tapped the play button. Soft violin music filled the room.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much..." she fought back a blush.

They proceeded to enjoy their meal, all the while talking, playfully trying to one-up each other with jokes and stories, and good-naturedly abusing poor Persian.

"Oh _waiter_! More wine!"

"Waiter, there's a hair in my salad! Oh, that's mine!"

Persian flattened his ears, "You two owe me big time..."

After the chocolate mousse cake was eaten, Persian asked, "Is there anythin' else I can do?"

James looked thoughtful, "I guess not..."

"Good!" the feline tossed off the chef's hat, "Then I'm goin' out. It's Thursday after all! Later!"

He happily trotted over to the door, opened it, and let it slam behind him.

Jessie raised her eyebrow, to which James explained, "He's friends with a group of wild Meowth and Persian. Every week they have a get-together and prowl the city all night."

"Oookay. Good to see he's made some friends, I guess." she drank some more wine.

He reached and took her free hand, "Now that the food is done, I have another surprise for you."

"Another? Goodness I really _am_ spoiled today-I love it!"

Still holding hands, they stood and he led her to the cleared space in the middle of the room. As they passed a vase, he plucked one of the roses from it and offered it to her. She shot him a bemused, 'I-see-what-you-did-there' grin. Reaching out, he tapped a couple buttons on the CD player until it got to a specific song. Then, he hit a switch on the wall, and all the lights went out.

"What's this?" she wondered, just as he reached up and tugged a long chord attached to the ceiling.

A hatch in the roof flipped open, flooding the room with silvery moonlight. It shimmered off of every surface and left an ethereal glow. She gasped and he asked, "Well?"

"James, this is amazing. I...don't know what to say..."

"Then dance with me."

Still holding her hand, he slid his free one to her lower back, and she moved closer, laying her other hand on his shoulder. He began to move his feet, effortlessly guiding her as a soft waltz emanated from the CD player.

"When did you learn to dance like this?" she asked.

"I've always been able to. I've just never had an opportunity to use it!" he replied, spinning her once around and dipping her low, his face so close she could feel his warm breath on her skin. It sent such a jolt through her she nearly lost her balance for a moment.

James paused as he pulled her back up, "You ok?"

Fanning herself, she quickly said, "Oh yes! I'm fine! It's nothing!"

They gracefully danced to the song's end. Pulling back, they gazed at each other, emotions swirling. This was the third time they were in this position, and this time it seemed there would be no interruption. James traced her jawline with his thumb and leaned in closer, half-closing his eyes. Jessie's heart raced as she mirrored his movements; dear god she ached to kiss him, pull him down to the floor and-

Doubt and panic suddenly clouded her mind. She quickly turned her head away, "Th-thanks for the dance...hey I'm thirsty...is there any more wine?"

He tried to hide his disappointment and almost succeeded, "Yeah...sure."

They separated and he went to the table, picking up the half-gone bottle and their glasses and returning to the couch where she had sat down.  
Filling the glasses, he handed her one and they sat in awkward silence for a minute before he said, "Jessie...I'm sorry."

"For _what_?"

"I scared you off didn't I? Admitting I loved you, saying I wanted to leave Team Rocket...I should have kept my big mouth shut," he bit his lip, hating himself for the tears he couldn't stop, "When you disappeared...I knew I had screwed up, as usual."

"Oh come on! That's not it-not all of it, I..."

He suddenly glared at her, unable to hold in the question burning in his mind any longer, "Why did you _really_ leave?"

Startled by the abrupt change in his demeanor, she defensively said, "I told you already!"

He felt his anger start to boil up, "You think I don't know when you're not telling me everything? It's been a while but I can still read you better than you realize! I know you think I'm stupid, and well, I may not be the smartest guy in the world but I do know when I'm being lied to!"

She snorted, "Get over yourself! I'm not lying; I told you why I left!"

Still glaring each other down, James stood, unbuttoned his jacket and started on his dress-shirt. Jessie leaned away slightly, blushing, "What-what are you doing?"

He undid the first two buttons and pulled the left side of the shirt down to reveal a round, jagged scar about two inches below the collarbone. Jessie paled; this was where he had been shot. When she had left he still had it bandaged up, thus she had never actually seen his wound.

He swallowed hard, "Do you know what hurts worse than _this_ ever did? Waking up to find you gone, and knowing I may never see you again. Finding you, and then you lie about why you really left. And even now-"

"Okay _fine_!" she yelled, standing. Setting her glass down and nearly spilling it, and stepped back a couple paces, "You want to know the whole story?! True, I didn't know if I wanted to leave yet but it's also because I-I loved you too, you hopeless dork! I did then, and I still do now! There! And my whole life, no matter how hard I tried, I've always screwed up everything! Nursing school? Failure! Pokemon trainer? Failure! Team Rocket member? We both know how that went! I didn't want to screw up with...with _us_ too! So I figured it was better for both of us if I just...took off."

He was startled to finally hear the words he had yearned for, "Jessie-"

"And another thing," she continued, planting her hands on her hips, "Why do you love me anyway?! I was horrible to you! For heaven's sake how many times did I blame you or beat you up when things went wrong? I'm impulsive, temperamental, vain, selfish-"

His anger diminished, he said, "I also remember all the times you saved me or stuck by my side no matter what. You're loyal, brave, determined, resourceful, and incredibly beautiful..."

Her hands dropped to her sides, her own rage spent. Once again, they stood silent, looking everywhere but at each other, uncertain of what to say next.

After a moment Jessie asked quietly, "I...never thanked you for saving me, did I?"

James thought back for a second, then replied, "No, you didn't."

She walked slowly up to him and gingerly brushed her fingertips across his scar, then flattened her hand over his heart. He drew a sharp breath, surprised at what a strong effect her simple touch had on him.

Unable to hold back the tears, she glanced up and softly said, "Thank you."

Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed her hard, pouring all the years of built-up pain and longing into this moment. With her other hand she grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him closer to deepen their kiss. When their lips met, any sense of doubt or hesitation she had felt melted away.  
This was right. This was real. This was the truth she had been denying for so long-and it felt so damn good to give in...


	11. As One

_*****A/N: I am sooooooo sorry this took a while. I've been very busy on top of a nasty case of writer's block. But here's my next chapter! Aaaand the moment I'm sure at least some of you have been waiting for! Look away kiddies! ;) *****_

Without breaking away, she deftly undid his tie and let it fall, then ran her hand down his chest and torso to where his shirt was still buttoned. Heat rose in his belly and he groaned; if she had this effect on him now, heaven help him.

"Jessie..." he murmured into her ear; she shuddered at the desire she heard in his voice.

She undid the remaining buttons on his jacket and pulled it off, then started on his shirt as they found their way backwards to the nearest wall. He pinned her against it and moved his lips to her neck as she arched her back to press herself closer, a slight whimper escaping.

Using what rational part of his brain was still functioning, he uttered, "If...if you don't tell me to stop, I-" His voice shook.

"Shut up and make love to me!" she breathlessly snapped, grabbing his collar and pulling him in for another kiss.

That first kiss had shattered the dam, all the tension, secrets, and stolen touches and looks of years past pouring out between them. He slipped one hand around to her back, finding the zipper for her dress and sliding it down. With the other he reached for her hair clip and undid it, letting her long, red hair cascade down her back, stroking the silken tresses before drawing her into a stronger, more urgent kiss. Clumsily they turned to the couch, her kicking her shoes off while yanking his shirt out of his waistband and him unzipping her dress completely as they went. Emotion building, she roughly grasped his shoulders, pushing him down onto the cushion. She straddled his lap, her fingers tangling in his soft hair as he left trails of kisses along her neck, shoulders and chest. Her heart pounded and she couldn't remember ever needing something as urgently as she needed this man now. She hurriedly grabbed a hold of her dress' hem, proceeding to pull it up, a task with which he was happy to assist. Sliding his hands up her thighs, he helped her pull the dress up and over her head, revealing a painfully seductive black lace bra and panties. His breath caught and he bit his lip. Sitting up slightly, he peeled his shirt off, soon to join its cousin scattered on the floor. Wrapping her in his arms again, he began tracing the curve of her breasts softly with his tongue. She gasped, gripping his belt then fumbling with its removal. After a moment his hands joined hers, both desperate to remove the offending, final layers of fabric between them. Trying to tug his pants off, he hooked his heels under the couch for leverage. Suddenly the backrest and bottom sprang outwards, flattening to form one long bed! Two startled bodies dropped backwards onto it in a tangle.

"Oh...I didn't know it did that!" remarked James after a slight pause. Then in unison they grinned, "How convenient!"

He arched his back and grabbed a hold of his pants, pulling and half-kicking them off. A few kisses and movements later, they found themselves completely exposed. The smile on her face and look in her eyes glowed with approval, and it only made him ache for her more. Propping herself up on one elbow, she smiled lustfully at him and traced her hands along his body. Though he wanted to take her right then and there, he let her explore. Not to be left out, he too let his hands and lips wander, eliciting sharp breaths and moans from her. Each noise and touch only made them want each other more, and finally they couldn't take it any longer as he swiftly rolled himself over top of her, nudging her knees apart with his own. His breath rough he looked at her, searching for this final approval to touch her in a way that could never be taken back.

She smiled softly, as if reading his mind, and whispered "I love you..."

He felt a tear in his eye. This was what he needed. Leaning in to kiss her, he moved himself to gently probe her entrance. Feeling just how ready she was nearly made him lose it, but he steadied himself. She moaned softly into his kiss as he slowly entered her further, then gasped aloud as he filled her completely. Their eyes met, and in that moment the rest of the universe was gone, melted away. There was only them, right now, that mattered. Drawing a shaky breath, he began a deep, slow rhythm, which she quickly matched. Time slowed and seemed to stop. They lost all sense of it, making love for what might have been hours, their breath and bodies tangled together. When they finally sailed over the edge they did so together, him crying her name and both of them clinging to one another, swearing they'd never let each other go again...

Later, they lay snuggled together enjoying this new-found closeness. Jessie rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers touching his scar and listening to his now-calm heartbeat...the heart that had nearly stopped forever, for her.

Her thoughts drifted back until he pulled her out of it with, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing..."

"You're thinking about the day I got that, aren't you?"

"Maybe...more like the night I took off, actually."

Pulling away, she stood and picked up one of the throws that had been kicked off at some point, wrapped herself snugly in it and walked over to the nearest window. Leaning against the frame she gazed out into the harbor. James mimicked her, grabbing a throw for himself and standing at the opposite side of the same window; he wanted to be near her but knew her body language meant she needed a little space.

After a moment she chuckled, "I never wanted to fall in love with you."

"Gee, thanks..." he muttered with a snort.

"Oh, don't be a drama queen! I mean way back, when we were still in Team Rocket. Once I thought I was, I tried to fight it off. Oh, I tried so hard..."

"But, why Jess?" he asked sadly.

"Because of what I already told you, and because I thought I was being stupid and childish. Love was for saps and certainly not for someone like me. I didn't think I deserved it. And also, let's face it; once you sign up for that gig there's no such thing as a happy ending. Your story ends with you either dead or in jail. But...I couldn't make it go away. I came close to telling you the night I left," she gripped her blanket tighter, "You holding me and pleading to come with you, almost losing you...but I still couldn't. I spent so long denouncing the evils of truth and love I couldn't admit that the truth was...I loved you."

She turned her head slightly to smile at him, and he grinned back, stepping closer as he took her hands in his, "And my love for you extends to the stars above..."

Embracing each other tightly, she looked at him, her voice and expression hardening, "If we're going to be together, if I'm going to trust you with my heart, I have one thing to say..."

"What..?" his face showing concern with a touch of confusion. She remembered that look well from whenever she had announced she had a plan.

"You break my heart, and I'll break your neck."

"Oh, I know!" he beamed, then turned more serious, "I wouldn't, I couldn't hurt you, Jessie..."

He meant it too, knowing deep in his very core he'd rather die than betray her trust; he knew how seldom she gave it away and how closely she guarded herself. Looking into his emerald eyes, she knew he meant it sincerely.  
Besides, he was a terrible liar.  
Winding her arms around his neck, her heart more at ease than it had been in ages, she pulled him in for another kiss. Surprised at how easy this was becoming he did the same. It crossed his mind that if he died today, despite every other mistake and failure in his life he would be content just for finally telling, not to mention showing, this mercurial, amazing woman just how much he loved her.  
Feeling that fire well up in them again, Jessie broke their embrace, stepping back and loosening the blanket she wore to let it pool at her feet. The moonlight coming through window shone across her skin and hair and he inhaled sharply at the effect. Letting his own blanket fall they stood before each other, naked not just physically but emotionally. Taking his hand she led him back to the bed, but as he started to move himself over her, she flipped them over to straddle him.

"Oh no you don't," she breathed, shuddering again as she felt how much he already wanted her, "my turn."

"As you wish, m'lady..."

The moon had sunk low in the sky and a warm glow was growing on the eastern horizon when Jessie's eyes slowly opened. For a few groggy seconds she wondered where she was. Then, feeling movement against her back, she quickly remembered very well. Glancing down, she saw she was still quite naked, with James's arms wrapped snugly around her. With a contented sigh she wriggled herself closer to him, savoring the moment. This caused him to awaken himself, and he yawned loudly. Jessie rolled to face him and they grinned at each other.

"Good morning..." she sighed.

"Good morning, beautiful..." he replied, giving her forehead a peck.

She rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to argue that she probably looked perfectly awful right now, and asked, "Is there a blanket within reach? I'm a bit chilly..."

He turned over and reached for another one of the throws on the floor. As he did, she couldn't help but notice several fine, red lines scratched across his back. 'Oops!' she thought, 'Well, that's a compliment, right?'

Grabbing the biggest one, he arranged it over them and moved closer.

"Warm enough?"

Looking into his green eyes, she suddenly felt emboldened.

"Not quite."

Rolling again to lay on top of him, she propped herself up on her elbows and smirked at his quizzical expression.

"This is a little better..."

"Really now?"

He ran his hands down her back to cup her bottom, a move for which she gave a little moan of approval.

"I think we can figure something out."

They leaned in and kissed, but only for a minute later the door handle jiggled and Persian waltzed in with a white paper bag in his mouth.  
It only took a moment before he spotted them and the bag fell from his jaws with a dull thud, "Aaah!" he cried.

They disentangled themselves, Jessie screaming and yanking the blanket up to her neck, almost leaving poor James exposed.

"Eeek! _Get out!_"

"Hey I _live_ here!" retorted Persian.

There was a brief, awkward silence. Then Jessie and James, their faces beet-red, started to frantically chatter in unison.

"Persian! This isn't..."

"Well it is but..."

"We can explain..."

Persian sat down and snorted, "Well it's about time!"

The two humans glanced at each other. Then, as if receiving a mental signal from the other, asked together, "What's do you mean, it's about time?"

"It's about time you two finally stopped dancin' around matter!" Persian gave an exasperated sigh before he continued, "I've been watchin' you look all lovey-dovey at each other, hug constantly, start ta half-admit how you feel for ages an' quite frankly I got tired of it an' I'm happy you both grew a spine an' just got it over wit!"

"You...noticed?" asked James curiously.

Persian's ears flattened, "You two are about as subtle as a herd of Tauros."

A little while later, after Jessie had insisted upon a quick shower, they all sat around the dining table enjoying breakfast and discussing the day's adventures ahead. For the time being she had borrowed one of James' long button-up shirts and a pair of socks. Persian revealed the bag he had brought contained an assortment of pastries, courtesy of a baker down the street they were friends with.

"We have a kinda barter system with him," the feline explained to Jessie as he lapped a bowl of cream, "We bring him fish, he gives us a bag of goodies. Win-win."

"Sounds like you two have it made here," she replied, brushing her hair, "You've got your jobs, a house, friends, all the free baked goods you want..."

"And now that we've got you too, it's perfect!" added James cheerfully through a mouthful of fruit danish.

Jessie snorted, "This place is a glorified shed! There's barely enough room for you two! I am _not_ moving in _here_."

"We'll figure something out," James said, leaning over to kiss her, "We always do."

They smiled lovingly at each other. Then Persian piped up, "Hey, you two better cool it! We don't need another mouth to feed!"

They both nearly choked on their food at that, and glanced sideways at one another, blushing fiercely.

Jessie found her voice first, "Hey cat! That's our business!"

"You can always move in with your wild friends..." grumbled James, his face still quite red.

"Ah-hahahaha!" Persian laughed at their discomfort, relishing a little revenge for them teasing him the night before, "Don't you just want a lil' one runnin' around?" he stood on the table, reaching over to poke at Jessie's belly, "Aww! Boy or girl? When are-whoooa!"

His paw slipped on Jessie's work folder she had set on the table in front of her, intending to go over it after breakfast. Papers went flying like startled birds. She yelled at him and tried to grab at them. He scrambled to regain his balance, which only scattered the rest of them everywhere.

"Eh-heh...oops..." said Persian sheepishly as the last few papers fluttered to the floor.  
James clapped a hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh; it was kind of funny, after all.

Jessie's eye twitched, "You stupid-! It took me forever to organize that! Help me pick these up _now_!"

A little while later, after all the paperwork had been found and re-organized, Jessie flipped through the file on Gus' place. Biting her thumbnail and mumbling to herself, she went over it several times before asking, "Didn't you guys say he has a place a few blocks down the street from the one where we met up?"

"Yep, it's an old ice-house he made into a storage and processing plant. " replied James as he sipped his coffee.

Snapping her fingers Jessie declared, "Ha! I knew it! It's not listed anywhere on his file. This lists all his properties, income, expenses, et cetera. Now, what is he hiding?"

"What makes you think he's hidin' somethin'?" wondered Persian.

"There's only a couple reasons you wouldn't mention a property you own, and none of them are good," she replied, closing the folder, "And my criminal instincts aren't gone yet. I knew I smelled a rat when I met him! Say boys; who wants to do a little sleuthing? Find out what he's up to?"

Persian raised a paw, "Ooh! Me!"

"If we can find some dirt on that guy, I'm in!" added James with a nod.

"Alright then!" Jessie stood, flipping her hair back, "Let's go!"

James raised an eyebrow, "Um, you might want to put on some more clothes first..."


	12. Discoveries

About an hour later, after a quick trip back to her hotel room for a more practical change of dress, they parked about half a block from the building in question in a tiny alleyway formulating a plan; since James and Persian worked there, it would be perfectly reasonable for them to be looking around or entering the premises.

"Just see if you can get in and find anything suspicious. I should stay here," Jessie explained, "If there is anything fishy going on-no pun intended-we don't want him knowing that I know, then he'd know that we all know and you know we'd be in trouble."

They blinked at her before James nodded, "Got it."

As they exited the car, Jessie gave them a grin and a thumbs-up. A couple minute walk landed them in front of the place that, as familiar as it was, seemed suddenly more sinister. James stuck his hands in the pockets of his slacks and whistled casually as they made their way around from the front door to the back of the building, discreetly trying the doors and windows trying to find an open one. Finally near the large, rolling steel doors to the back unloading area, they came across an unlocked door!

"Jackpot!" Persian whispered.

They started to enter, so excited they never heard the footsteps behind them, until a loud voice snapped angrily at them!

"Hey!"

Whipping around, they found themselves facing Gus. The large man crossed his arms and asked, "What the hell are you two doing here snooping around?"

'Dammit!' James thought as his heart raced, fighting back the urge to turn and run, 'Why is he here?! Work doesn't start until tomorrow! Think man, think!'

Trying not to panic, they attempted to appear innocent as Persian wondered, "Where is everyone? Ain't we supposed ta be fishin' by now?"

Internally blessing the feline's quick thinking, James added with a casual scratch of the head, "Yeah, all the boats are docked and no one's at the main office...shouldn't everyone be-"

"You dim-wits know work don't start back up 'til tomorrow! Sheesh!" he then cleared his throat, his voice changing to a colder, unfamiliar tone, "And besides...whatcha trying to sneak in for? I've been watchin' you. Why don't you tell me why you're _really_ here?"

James and Persian risked a glance at each other, and Persian gave him a subtle 'I-got-nothing-it's-up-to-you' look.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling sadly for effect, James spat out the only thing he could think of, "Fine...I forgot something here the other day."

"What?" Gus grumbled.

"A-a jacket."

"But it's warm weather now."

"It still gets chilly out on the water early in the morning! And it's-it's a lucky jacket. Yeah."

Gus glared at them for a few moments as they shifted uncomfortably, then waved his hand, saying, "I'll find the damn thing and get it to you tomorrow. Now git!"

"Can't I just go in and grab it now? I know right where-"

"No, you can't. Now I suggest you get the hell outta here and enjoy the rest of your day off."

The two men continued to stare each other down for a minute, until finally James held up his hands in a 'you-win' gesture and said, "Okay, okay boss...sorry to bother you! Seeya tomorrow!"

"Later, Feraligator!" Persian chimed in, a bit too cheerful.

They turned and walked away as nonchalantly as they could, feeling Gus's sharp gaze on their backs. Approaching Jessie's car, she started to get out, but James yawned silently and scratched the left side of his nose. She stopped and quietly sat back down, letting them walk past her and continue down the sidewalk. Back in their earlier days as field agents, they had all made up a series of code signals only they could understand. These came in very handy when they couldn't speak or otherwise had to communicate secretly. The sign James had just used meant 'not-safe-stay-put.' A minute later, they had circled the building and came around to her car from the opposite side of the alley, and out of Gus's view.

Now getting out, Jessie asked, "What was that all about?"

Persian flattened his ears, "You were right Jess; he's definitely hidin' somethin'."

"We only got to look inside a little before Gus himself caught us," James added, "But we saw enough. The crates were what really tipped us off."

"So what? Don't you use those all the time for storage and shipment?" she asked.

James explained, "We use wooden crates, printed with his logo on the side. These crates were metal, with no logo. There were a bunch of them in there. Also, Gus was acting really weird."

"He was actin' nervous and angry, like someone who's been caught, ya know?" said Persian.

Jessie planted her hands on her hips, "Well, that settles it then. He's up to something, and I aim to find out what it is! I'm running out of time before I have to head back, though. We just need to figure out a way to-"

A loud chirping noise was suddenly heard, and Jessie snatched her phone from her pocket, "Hello?"

She yanked it away from her ear with a wince as even James and Persian could hear the man on the other end yelling, _"__**Where **__**are**__** you Jessie?! You haven't reported in in two days**__!"_

Pointing to the phone and rolling her eyes she mouthed 'my boss' and put the phone back to her ear, "Mr. Langer, I-...no, I haven't...because this guy is being difficult and...oh for heaven's sake what am I supposed to do bribe him?!...yes...yes...noooo, I-what?!"

Glancing at her companions, she bit her lip nervously. They looked at her curiously as she got back on the phone.

"Come back? But I'm not done yet."

_"Yes you are! You've had more than enough time!"_

"Have you ever dealt with this guy? He's a lazy, stubborn idiot who whined about having to-"

_"No excuses! Get back here! You're on desk duty for a while after this little stunt, missy!"  
_  
Feeling her anger rise and patience fall, Jessie nonetheless attempted to keep an even tone as she pleaded her case, "Give me the rest of today to get the paperwork. I've run into some old friends and we've-"

_"Oooh really now?! Well, that makes all the difference! Tell you what; I'll be generous and make you a deal. You either come back NOW and keep your job or stay there with your little friends and lose it. You have three seconds! One..."_

She looked at James and Persian, a panicked expression on her face. Scarcely believing she was in this situation again, her mind and heart raced against the clock for a solution. On one hand was the career she had worked so hard for, actually growing to love it, enjoying the challenge and sense of accomplishment when she succeeded, not to mention the respect and admiration of her colleagues. The money certainly didn't hurt either. On the other hand...

_"Two..."_

The only really, true friends she had ever known gazed back at her...the friends who had stuck by her side through the very best and very worst of times, no matter what happened, no matter how many times they failed or she blamed them for said failure. Bits of memories flicked through her mind's eye; the bike gang, Pokemon tech, losing track of James for a time while she tried other things on her own, joining Team Rocket, being stunned to see him again, both afraid to reveal they knew each other and inwardly dismayed to see the other end up there, meeting Meowth and getting to know one another for the first time (or again), their first missions together, all of their misadventures, schemes, triumphs and losses leading up to...

No. She knew what she had to do.

"_Three! Times up! What will it-"_

She snarled into the phone, "You know what?! I've had enough! I don't have to take this crap from you! You want this stupid paperwork so bad? Get off your rear, get out of your cushy little office and come get it yourself!"

_"__**EXCUSE ME?!**__ How dare you! You're f-"_

"Oh I dare! And don't worry about firing me because _**I QUIT!**_"

Pulling the phone away she spun and hurled it toward the water, throwing it so hard it sailed clear over the road and boardwalk, landing in the bay. With a triumphant grin she turned to her friends, who were staring at her dumbstruck and slightly scared of her violent outburst; they had been on the receiving end of many.

"Well then! Now I have lots of time!"

"What was dat about...?" asked Persian cautiously.

"He told me I had to choose between you guys and my job. So I told him to kiss my ass!"

Laughing, James scooped her up in a hug, "There's our Jessie we know and love!"

"And kinda fear!" added Persian, joining the huddle.

"...And well," she continued, squeezing James a little closer, "I made the wrong call once already; I'm not making that mistake again. I can always find another job, but I'll never find another couple of wonderful dorks like you two!"

Pulling apart their group-hug after a moment, James asked, "So, what's the plan? Do we have one?"

"Preferably one dat don't end up wit us blastin' off?" Persian sourly grumbled.

Jessie rubbed her hands together and grinned mischievously, "Well, I had an idea. What do we say team; think we've got one last heist in us?"

Late that night, three figures, two dressed head-to-toe in black, crept up upon the massive wooden structure that was the center of this mystery. Most of the streetlights were off or burned out, and the only sounds were the water, an occasional far-off howl and the creaking of boats at their moorings. A slight fog swirled about, further muffling any lights or sounds. Crouching behind some piles of discarded wood and metal, they peered through holes in the rubble to watch the steady but silent stream of people entering and exiting the building, the inside lights nearly extinguished by heavy wood shutters. Pulling out a pair of night-vision equipped binoculars, James tried to get a better look. He saw people pulling smaller boxes off of a decent sized, dinged-up steel ship and carrying them inside, while small groups pulled those large, metal crates they had spotted earlier outside and onto the same ship. Two men stood in the dim light of the doorway, giving quiet orders and making notes on clipboards they held. James recognized Gus immediately. The other man looked familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where from. Turning a dial, he adjusted the lenses to get a closer view-and gasped quietly.

Jessie poked him, "Well?" she mouthed.

He turned his head slightly, the surprise on his face evident even in the darkness, "You're not gonna believe this, but it's Team Aqua...and Team Rocket!"

Snatching the binoculars from his hands, she held them up to see for herself. Sure enough, he was right.

"What in the name of-?!" she muttered, "I thought Team Aqua was done for...and what are our former co-workers doing here and working _with_ them?! Now this is suddenly much more interesting. Persian, have a look." She held the device out to him.

He shook his head, "I can see 'em just fine. My eyes are better den yours remember?"

"Oh, right..." she passed them back to James, who held them up to watch the activity, "Alright then, now what?"

"Didn't you say you had a plan?" asked James, still keeping an eye on things.

Jessie tapped her fingers together, "Honestly I didn't expect to find much and certainly not something like this so...this is pretty much where my plan ended!"

Her companions stared at her blankly as she attempted a weak smile. They then sighed in defeat.

"Considering our track record..." said James.

"We'd better just leave now!" Persian finished.

"Hey!" Jessie admonished them, "We're not giving up yet, especially now since we know there's something big here! We have to find out what they're up to. Just because we don't have a plan doesn't mean we can't think of one! Now come on, you two know this place; what's our best option for getting past them?"

James said, "Besides the front door, which we already saw was being guarded, and this back entrance there are three other side doors, two large windows, several smaller ones-"

Persian pointed to one of said smaller windows, "Dat one's open a little!"

Jessie grinned, "Perfect! We'll sneak in, find a safe hiding spot and figure out what's going on here. Ooh I haven't felt this familiar rush in ages! Let's move!"

"All I feel is nervous..." grumbled James, stuffing the binoculars back in his bag.

She paused to stare at him, "Seriously? Where's the James who clobbered a guy twice his size?"

"That was different," he quickly retorted, "He started it. Besides, I don't go actively looking for trouble...anymore."

"Now dere's some irony!" quipped Persian.


	13. The Buneary Hole

Keeping a close eye on the people moving about, the trio darted across the open space between their hiding place and the side of the building, crouching below the slightly open window. Risking a peek, Persian raised his head to look inside. Below the window were more piles of crates. Luckily, they were the usual wooden ones they worked with everyday and therefore made a perfect hiding spot. There was no one nearby, although there were a couple people that were obviously keeping a lookout a short ways off.

Lowering his head Persian whispered, "Ok, here's da deal; if we can get in quick and get behind dem crates right under dis window we can watch 'em without 'em seein' us."

Jessie and James nodded in agreement, and Persian carefully nosed open the window just enough to allow them to get through before slipping inside. Dropping silently to the floor he moved aside as they followed behind him. Peering around the sides of their hiding spot, they realized the full scope of this operation. Rows of dark grey, metal boxes were neatly lined up across the main floor, resting on the same squat wheeled platforms James and his co-workers used to move heavy crates around, waiting to be taken outside. Members of both gangs moved about like ants as they hurried into and out of the rolling steel doors. Looking again at the two men who were obviously running the show, James realized with a sudden punch of cold fear in his gut who the other one was.

He touched Jessie's arm and Persian's side, then gestured to the man. They looked, and immediately felt that same stab of nauseated horror.

It was Captain Brinks.

They all stared at each other, no special signs were needed to express the singular thought they all shared; what was _he_ doing here?! Whatever it was, they knew it wasn't good, and only made this whole thing seem to be more dangerous and run deeper than they realized. They knew they were in way over their heads now.

Persian, shaking a little, swiped a paw across his throat, a signal which meant, _'Abort mission!'_

Jessie , knowing full well he was probably right, nonetheless shook her head and tapped her ear, _'No, not yet.'_

She clenched her fists. There was no way in hell she was leaving without having some kind of idea as to what was going on, and maybe even getting to obtain enough evidence to have that slimy bastard locked up forever. The memories of those weeks at Fort Johton, trapped within its walls and under Brink's hateful gaze, came surging back and burned through her veins like fire. James saw the rage flashing in her eyes and guessed exactly what she was thinking. He reached to his chest, not sure if the slight pain he felt in his old injury was real or just in his imagination. Taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, he nodded sharply, pointed to his eyes then flipped his other hand palm-up, '_We'll see what we can find.'_

Feeling her anger subside, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. Tapping her chest, she pointed to another pile of crates closer to the door, _'I'm going over there.'_

He shook his head and pointed to the ground with two fingers, _'No! Stay here!'_

Just then a guard walked by, a bit too close for comfort. Jessie rolled her eyes and made the 'Okay' sign.

Persian scratched his chin three times, _'What do we do now?'_

Jessie smiled and pulled a cell phone from her pocket. James gave her a confused look but decided to ask about where she had gotten it later. Raising it just over the top of the box, she pressed the camera button. She repeated this process several more times, trying to get as many different angles as possible. There was just enough noise that she figured (or at least hoped) they wouldn't hear the slight click it made.

Just as she was getting another shot, there was a sudden commotion as one of the metal crates fell off its buggy, smashing open and sending its contents everywhere! Dozens of grey-and-black orbs gushed out, rolling every which way. A flurry of yelling to grab them and then more yelling to be quiet ensued as grunts from both teams ran about scooping them up. They winced and looked away as Brinks savagely kicked one of the Rockets that had been handling the toppled crate in the ribs as the young man was stooping to grab some, berating him for being clumsy. He fell to his side, sobbing and holding himself. Gus callously snapped at him to get up, and he dragged himself to his feet with help from a couple others. Despite never really getting along with any of their fellows, they nonetheless felt sympathy for him; he was just following orders, as they once had done.

A couple of these balls happened to end up within reach of the trio's hiding place. With a quick glance to make sure no one was looking, Jessie lunged and snatched one up. They studied it curiously. It looked like a Pokeball, but unlike any Pokeball they had ever seen. It was mostly grey, with two thick black stripes reaching from the center, almost resembling a plus-sign. Glancing at each other, they silently agreed to examine it further later as Jessie placed it in her bag.

While raising her phone for a couple more pictures, James laid a hand on her arm and shook his head, jerking his thumb toward the window they had come in, _'No, let's go!'_

She glared at him and pulled her arm away, aiming her camera for some last shots. Upon the second one, they suddenly overheard one guard say to another, "Hey! Tom! I think I just saw a flash over there!"

They froze in horror, knowing they'd been caught. Persian's fur bristled and he looked at them as if to ask, 'What now?' James sullenly turned to Jessie as he pointed to his eye, then mouth, and finally her, _'I told you so.'_

Instead of protesting or slapping him, she pulled him close, making a fist over her heart, _'I'm sorry' _as they heard the guards stalking closer.

Persian's ears suddenly perked up and he tapped the top of his head, _'I have an idea.'_

Swiftly rolling on the dirty floor to mess up his fur, shuddering with disgust as he did so, he grabbed a nearby, discarded fish-bone and padded out from behind the crates before either of his human friends could question or stop him.

The two guards paused as they spotted him. Persian dropped the bone and gave a rough "Nyaah?" as he cocked his head, doing his best to act like a wild, ordinary Pokemon.

The one guard burst out in laughter, "It's just another of these stupid, stray cats!" he then slapped the other across the head, "Idiot! You just saw light bouncin' off that stone on it's forehead," he turned to Persian, "Hey cat, you want a treat?"

Persian meowed casually and approached him.

The guard held out his hand, "Heeeere, kitty kitty, I got somethin' for you!" then suddenly kicked at him!

Persian snarled and leapt away as the man yelled at him to get out. Fearing for his friends but knowing he'd be blowing their cover, if he didn't continue to play dumb, Persian turned and ran out of the building and around a corner, stopping to crouch behind the same pile of trash they had used earlier.

"I sure hope dose guys can get out okay..." he sighed to himself, settling down and resting his head on his paws to wait.

Back inside, deciding they had seen enough, they waited for an opportunity to slip back out. With the continued chaos, it didn't take long for them to find one, and they hurriedly clambered out the window and ran back to their previous hiding area. Persian stood as they skittered around the corner and flopped down, trying to catch their breath.

Daring now to speak again, Jessie said, "What in heaven's name are they up to? And why was _he_ there?!"

"Well, they were loading those crates full of...those weird Pokeballs onto that ship. And I realized the smaller ones they were carrying in were money boxes. There's some serious cash flow going on there," said James as he scratched his chin thoughtfully, then glanced back toward the building, "I think we should move to a safer location before someone decides to head this way."

Quickly and quietly making their way inland toward the center of the city they discussed what they had seen and what they should, or could, do about it.

"We should go straight to the police. We've got pictures, eye-witness accounts, and...whatever this thing is." concluded Jessie.

"Are we sure? This is a lot worse than we thought. If Brinks is involved who knows how deep this goes," James pulled the mysterious orb from her bag, turned it over in his hands, and set it on a bench they had paused by, "If we turn them in, I don't want to risk it getting traced back to us."

He felt torn; as much as he would relish the knowledge of Gus, Brinks, and the rest of his "old friends" getting what they deserved, he didn't want to possibly ruin the normal life he had only just begun to build. He finally had what he had always wanted; a home, income, time and ability to just be himself-all earned according to his own rules and choices. It wasn't ideal yet, but he had been working on that. And now he had her, too...was it worth the possible price?

"So we're just gonna let 'em get away wit it?" wondered Persian as he sniffed the ball. He thought there was something awful and familiar about the smell but couldn't quite place it.

"There is no way we're letting them go that easily! Let's go over these pictures and see if we can glean any more information." said Jessie, pulling out her phone.

James cocked his head, "Didn't you throw your phone in the water earlier?"

She laughed dismissively, "Oh, that was my work phone! This is my personal one. It's much better."

He couldn't help but smile as he noticed the cover with a little bejeweled Arbok on it.

After helping them check through a few of the disappointingly fuzzy pictures, Persian got bored and went back to studying that ball. He sniffed it again, then gingerly poked it with one claw. Getting no response, he jabbed at it again-unwittingly hitting the front button. With a yowl of surprise, he was suddenly sucked inside! Jessie and James turned their heads just in time to see their feline friend fade into a silhouette of black energy and disappear into the ball! James cried out and dove for it, hitting the button to get him back out. There was no telling what these things did.

"Well, we know now it's definitely some kind of weird Pokeball..." said Jessie, "Alright, let him out."

Hitting the button a few more times, James looked up at her, his eyes wide, "It won't work!"

"What? Oh, give it to me!" She grabbed it and tapped the release button. When it didn't respond, she hummed in confusion and tried a few more times. Still Persian remained inside. Now she felt her own fear begin to rise.

"What the hell is wrong with this thing?!" she snapped, bashing it against a light pole.

He gasped, "Don't do that! We don't know how these things work!"

"You're right..." she replied, worried but keeping a level head for Persian's sake, "So now what do we do?"

He clicked his fingers, "The Pokemon Center! If they can't get it open they can at least tell us if Persian's okay, and maybe they'll know someone who _can _open it!"

"Good idea! And the police station is basically next door. Let's move it!"

They took off at a run, knowing their destination was only a few blocks away. The damp, quiet night turned their footsteps into eerie clapping sounds as they echoed off nearby buildings. The fog had gotten worse, turning the light from the streetlamps into murky yellow pools, barely illuminating their path. It was this lack of clear sight that caused Jessie to catch her foot on a pothole, her momentum throwing her to the ground and the Pokeball flying from her hand!

She howled in pain as her knees and hands collided with the rough pavement, scraping her skin. James whipped around to help her, not realizing she had dropped the Pokeball until he saw she wasn't holding it, and heard the sharp clacking noise as it hit the ground.

"Quick! Find it before it rolls away!" she ordered, pushing him, "I'll be fine in a second-we can't lose that ball!"

"Are you sure-"

She shot him the so-help-me-I-will-clobber-you-if-you-don't-listen-_now_ look. For a second, he inwardly mused about how he had almost missed that expression.

Scrambling to his feet, James headed toward the noise he had heard, carefully watching his step so he wouldn't accidentally kick it farther away, or trip himself. After a few moments he spotted it and quickly reached for it-only to receive a jolt when his fingers made contact!

"Yeowch!" he yelped, rubbing his hand. Back when they were still chasing Pikachu and the twerps, they joked on occasion about how they had been zapped so many times they surely must be immune to electricity. But now, with his finger-tips still tingling, he realized that, well, maybe not.

"Did you find it?" called Jessie, pulling herself up and walking toward him as she bit her lip against the pain. Her skinned knees and palms burned, but she couldn't focus on that now.

James replied, "Yes, but it shocked me when I touched it...hold on...what's this?!"

He bent closer, just now noticing the hairline fractures spider-webbed across it's surface.

Jessie stooped next to him, seeing the damage herself, "It's cracked! Oh, no...I hope he's not hurt. Well, I've got a bag we could put it in so it doesn't shock us again-"

As she spoke, the ball began to shake, the cracks growing until they split the entire thing and it shattered! Shards of metal flew in every direction as they jumped up, yelping in surprise and grabbing ahold of each other. They looked to see a mass of shimmering black energy where the Pokeball had been swiftly grow and shift until it re-formed into their furry friend.

"Persian!" they happily cried, "You're okay!"

Persian sat crouched on the ground, his tail curled around him and his eyes tightly closed. They noted with a growing concern that he was shaking and not responding.

James blinked, "Hey...you alright pal?"

"I'm sorry I dropped you," said Jessie, "I didn't mean to trip. See? I'm all scratched up. We're even. So if you're mad at me, you can just-"

Suddenly Persian's eyes flew open, the pupils mere slits. Fur bristling, he bared his teeth and stood, whirling to face them. Hissing and growling, he stalked forward, looking and acting every bit like a truly wild, feral Pokemon.

Startled and confused, they stepped back.

"Persian! What's gotten into you?!" snapped Jessie.

James pleaded, "What's the matter? It's us! Why are you-"

Then the cat spoke, his voice even rougher and punctured with the occasional snarl, "I has no _idea_ who you are! _Now go away, or I'll cut ya ta ribbons!_"


	14. Friend and Foe

_*****A/N: I know it's been a bit, but it's been insane and hectic here and I haven't had much time to do anything extra. Hopefully things will calm down soon and I can start updating more regularly. I'll do my best, dear readers!*****_

They stared at him in utter confusion, still backing away as he stepped closer.

Finally Jessie risked a step towards him, "Will you snap out of it? I don't know why you don't recognize us but you need to-"

Persian hissed and swiped at her, nearly tearing a hole in her pants. She yelped and jumped away.

"So _now_ what?!" wondered James.

"Honestly, I have no idea! Why is he acting like this?"

"What did being in there do to him? We need to get him some help, and fast! No telling if this is permanent or not!"

By this point Persian had herded them into a corner formed by two interconnected buildings, cutting them off if they tried darting away. Realizing there was only one real option left, Jessie pulled out Arbok's Pokeball.

James gaped at her, "You're not really thinking about-?!"

She glared back at him, though her voice noticeably shook with anguish, "If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it. If we can just weaken him enough to get him to the Pokemon Center...we might have a chance of getting our friend back."

Calling out the snake Pokemon, Jessie pleaded one more time, "Please don't make us do this Persian! Remember us!"

Persian cocked his head, "So ya wanna fight huh? Good!"

Grabbing Weezing's Pokeball, his heart aching, James said, "Then we have no choice. If this is the only way we can possibly help you, so be it. I'm sorry, pal..."

He released Weezing, so now all three Pokemon faced each other on strangely opposite sides.

Jessie raised her hand, "Arbok! Use Glare!"

"Weezing! Sludge attack!" added James.

The two poison types hesitated, looking at Persian, then at their trainers with obviously bewildered expressions. They couldn't believe their ears and didn't understand why they were being ordered to attack one who was practically their brother.

"Chaaaarr?" Arbok whimpered, Weezing joining him with an equally distressed cry of "Weeez...?"

Stomping her foot, tears welling in her eyes Jessie yelled, "Just do it!"

"We're doing this to help him; you have to trust us!" James cried, his own tears already running down his face.

Suddenly, Persian leapt at Arbok with a vicious yowl and claws extended! Startled, Arbok wasn't able to dodge it fast enough and got hit full-force with a Slash attack. He fell back with a hiss of pain, but quickly recovered. Seizing the chance, Weezing let loose with Sludge, hitting Persian dead-on and covering the feline's fur with the sticky, thick ooze. Persian snarled in rage and tried to struggle out of the viscous puddle his paws were stuck in.

"Okay Arbok, Tackle!" called Jessie.

Arbok whipped forward, lowering his upper half and struck a still-immobile Persian across the head, cringing as he made contact. Persian cried out, mewling helplessly and both humans were pretty sure they could feel their hearts break at that sound. With another blow Persian dropped to the ground, one paw still stuck fast and his head lolled back.

Jessie and James ran over to him, pulling his foot from the sludge and checking him over. Arbok and Weezing stood over them, trying to see if they could help after what they had done to him.

"Persian!" cried James, laying a hand on his side, "Wake up! Please!"

Jessie looked over her shoulder, seeing the lights of the Pokemon Center glowing faintly through the fog a short distance away, "We're pretty close. We'll carry him the rest of the way."

Standing, James lifted Persian into his arms, "I've got him."

"You sure? He's not exactly a Meowth's weight any-'

"I've got him!" he repeated firmly, his green eyes flashing with determination...and guilt, Jessie saw.

She stood and nodded, "Let's hurry then. Arbok, Weezing?"

The two Pokemon listened attentively and she said, "...We might need you again. Stay close."

Their odd little parade only got about halfway there before Persian suddenly jerked awake, lashing out and struggling! Unable to hold him safely, James kneeled down and Persian wriggled from his grasp, getting about two steps before collapsing, then weakly pulling himself to a sitting position. They cautiously went to him, asking if he could hear them and was okay. He didn't answer at first, the only sounds he made small whines, until he suddenly whirled around and threw himself on Jessie! His weight threw them both to the ground where she landed on her rear with the feline in her lap. Bracing herself for an attack, she was startled, relieved, and scared all at once when he buried his face in her chest and began to sob openly.

"I...couldn't...I didn't know who ya were!" he wailed, "Dat ball did somethin' ta me!"

He continued to cry and tremble, Jessie gently holding him to her, stroking his head as if he were a frightened child awoken from a nightmare.

"Hey, it's okay now...you're back and we're gonna get you fixed up." she said reassuringly, not even caring he was getting dirt and foul-smelling ooze all over her clothes.

Rubbing his back to further calm him, James watched Jessie soothe the Pokemon and smiled. As much as she played the cold, indifferent type he knew deep down she had a warm, loyal and loving heart. After all, a truly uncaring person wouldn't be doing this right now, nor all the other compassionate and selfless things she had done in their time together. A fleeting vision flashed across his mind; a nice house with a large yard and several Pokemon playing in it, him looking out the window watching them, and suddenly a tiny voice calling for him as he turns and scoops up an energetic, purple-haired toddler, Jessie right behind them with a bemused smile as she kisses him good morning...

James shook his head hard to knock it out of his thoughts. What the hell was he thinking, he chastised himself...though the vision was so powerful he could almost smell the coffee brewing and his-_their_ child's hair fresh from a bath. He felt the tears welling in his eyes at a future his soul secretly ached for but wasn't sure would, or could, ever come to be. He glanced at her, wondering if she could ever feel the same. Jessie raised her eyebrow at him, and he quickly wiped his eyes and waved his hand in a 'never mind' gesture.

Persian lifted his head, "Dere's somethin' horribly wrong wit dose Pokeballs!"

"Let's get you to the Pokemon Center!" said Jessie as she stood up, helping Persian to his feet, "You can tell us more on the way. Can you walk?"

Persian took a few, tentative steps, "Yeah, I think so..."

Arbok slithered up to him at this point and hung his head, "Chaaar-bok..."

"Hey, it ain't your fault," said Persian, "You was just following your trainer's orders. I ain't mad at ya, or you either Weezing. Heh, in fact you two knocked some sense back into me!"

Arbok smiled and moved his tail closer, gesturing for Persian to hop on, "Chaar?"

"Sure! I'll take cab service!" Persian laughed weakly, climbing onto the snake's back, "My legs are still a bit wobbly anyway."

James chuckled as they started off, "It's a good thing it's so late and there's no one around."

Jessie added as she surveyed their group, "Because we must look ridiculous!"

She grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his as they continued on toward their destination. James recalled Weezing, thanking him for a job well done and Persian sat comfortably on Arbok's back.

"So tell us," Jessie asked after a minute, "What's the matter with those things?"

Persian's ears flattened as he spoke, "I was in a Pokeball once. A while before I joined Team Rocket and met you guys, some kid tried ta catch me. He managed ta get me into a Pokeball, but dere was no way I was lettin' some little snot-nosed brat get ta best of dis Meowth-well, ya know what I mean-so I busted out and ran off. It was actually real nice in dere; warm and comfy and safe-feelin'. But inside dis ball..." he shuddered, "It was like bein' trapped in a bad dream. It was dark, and cold, and felt way too small and like...like somethin' was tryin' ta get into my head. It's hard ta explain. But it was awful, and when I got out I didn't know who ya were...all I felt was anger and I wanted ta...hurt ya...dat knock ta my noggin' musta snapped me outta it!"

James scratched him behind his ears, causing him to start purring softly, "It's okay pal. We understand. The important thing now is to get you healed up and stopping those _bastards_ before they hurt anyone else."

Jessie did a slight double-take and stared at him. She knew he rarely ever cursed, and especially not like that. Sure, he had tossed around the odd colorful word on occasion, especially when they had found themselves foiled by the twerp and his friends, but even that wasn't all the time.

She had always suspected it was another ingrained aspect of his upbringing. Glancing down she noted his free hand clench into a fist and his eyes become icy and dark as the night sky. Goosebumps pricked the back of her neck. He didn't get truly angry often, but it was kind of frightening when he did.

Touching his chin and turning his face to hers she said resolutely, "They won't, because we're going to stop them."

His eyes softened back to their normal state, and with a small, hopeful smile he kissed her gently.

Persian rolled his eyes and smiled at Arbok's slightly befuddled expression, "We're just gonna hafta get used ta this, bud."

Finally making it to the Pokemon Center, they ditched their hats and gloves in the shrubs outside, trying to make themselves look a little less suspicious. The dirt, sludge and sweat sticking to their clothes was bad enough. Jessie proclaimed she was getting a nice long shower the next time the chance presented itself. She flushed red, grinned and slapped James lightly when he quietly suggested they both get one, causing Persian and Arbok to glance at them in confusion, having not heard what he had whispered in her ear. Entering the large, brightly lit lobby, they were greeted with silence, which wasn't surprising considering the hour. Jessie glanced up at the wall clock over the main counter and noted it was already after two in the morning.

With a small sigh, James remarked, "The look of this place kind of reminds me of the Pokemon Center where-"

"We first ran into _them_." she finished, unable to conceal the note of bitterness in her voice.

"Mrah, I haven't thought about dat in ages...and I like ta keep it dat way." muttered Persian as he tried to scrape off the gunk that still clung to his fur.

After a few moments, a nurse, followed by a Blissey, emerged from a set of double-doors marked 'Staff Only'.

Smiling, she greeted them, "Hello! You're out late. Can I help you?"

Jessie resisted a sarcastic remark as she replied, "My Persian needs some help...he um, got into a fight with some wild Pokemon."

The nurse looked curiously around Arbok to Persian perched on it's back. He meekly lifted a paw and meowed.

Glancing at their ragged clothes and Jessie's skinned knees, she said, "Looks like you guys did too! Why don't you rest a bit in one of our rooms and we'll have your Persian in tip-top shape in no time!"

"Thanks but, we're fine. We'll be back shortly! Thank you!" said James with the overly-cheerful tone he used when he was nervous, uncertain, or dealing with someone who could possibly get them arrested. Jessie smiled inwardly; some things never changed.

After leaving Persian in their care and reassuring him they'd be back as soon as they could (also quietly reminding him to keep his mouth shut), they headed back outside and discussed the best way to handle presenting their claim to the police.

James crossed his arms, "Let's face it; if we waltz into the police station like this, we'll probably be the ones getting arrested."

Jessie looked down at their filthy, totally-not-suspect-all-black-attire and said, "Good point. Which is why I packed a back-up plan!"

Kneeling down, she dug into her bag as he waited curiously, finally pulling out two outfits, a huge, teasing grin acorss her face, "Look what I brought! I thought, what the hell, for old time's sake?"

James raised an eyebrow at the girl's student uniforms she held up.

"Jess...I don't think that's going to work this time," he said flatly, pointing to the stubble already re-growing along his jawline, then pulled up his sleeve, flexing his arm, "Not to mention this."

She hummed as she put them away, "I suppose you're right."

Despite the task at hand, she suddenly felt devious, and standing back up she wound her arms around his neck, backing up against the wall and pulling him with her, raising one leg to wrap it around his waist, "Honestly, I'm not sure how you ever pulled it off."

Startled but enjoying the moment, he smiled and pulled her tightly against him. Grasping her thigh with one hand, he slipped the other under her shirt and up her back, leaning his face toward hers, "Hmm...is that a compliment?"

"Yes..." she murmured against his lips, goose bumps again prickling her skin, this time for a different reason.

She kissed him hard, relishing the feel of his hands on her skin, the taste of his mouth and just _this. _Somewhere deep down she kicked herself for being so damn stubborn and not admitting how she felt sooner. They had already missed out on two years of who-knows-what-might-have-been and she swore they wouldn't waste another moment now that-

He pulled away suddenly, panting slightly, cursing himself but knowing they had important things to take care of first, "We...we have work to do. We really shouldn't-"

"Have sex against a wall when we should be fighting crime?" she smirked, a little breathless herself.

James blinked, "Ironic, isn't it?"

Jessie bit her lip, her heart-rate still up, "Yeah...later?"

"Later."

They pulled back, composing themselves and getting back to figuring out what to do.

Clearing his throat, James rifled through his own bag, "I've got a plan of my own, actually..."


	15. One Last Time

The officer in charge at the city's main police station was leaning his chin on his palm, eyes half-open as he played a riveting game of solitaire on his computer. A forgotten cup of coffee next to him slowly grew colder by the minute. Their secretary sat at her desk, feet propped up on it as she played rounds of Angry Pidgeys on her phone and occasionally tried to get some paperwork done. Yawning loudly, he turned around to let another officer passing by know he was heading to the bathroom when the door chime rung and two young people walked in, arms around each other and giggling slightly. They each had long, straight hair, the girl's in braids, and wore colorful headbands, loose pattered shirts, faded jeans and sandles.

The secretary looked up and started to address them, but the officer gestured to say he'd handle it. Rolling his eyes, he stood and went over to them, muttering 'darn kids' to himself before saying, "Um, good evening. I'm Officer Deryl...is there a problem?"

"Evening officer!" the male said, giving a salute.

"Well, we're pretty sure there's a problem..." the girl added, fiddling with one of her braids, "You see, we were down by the docks way over by the south side, by those couple fishing places-"

"And what were you doing down there?" Officer Deryl wondered, not entirely sure he wanted to know but duty-bound to ask.

The pair looked at each other and burst into snorting laughter, blushing and acting shy.

Officer Deryl waved a hand, "I get it, I get it...ok, so, what happened _besides_ that?"

The guy rubbed the back of his neck, "At this one building, it was on Corsola Street...oh yeah! There was a big number twelve on the side and there were a whole bunch of people moving boxes in and out of it...they were acting real suspicious ya know, man? We got ahold of one of the things that were in those boxes but it broke. Here's what's left of it."

He handed the officer a handful of metal shards, who upon looking them over and playing with the various bits mumbled to himself that it looked like pieces of a Pokeball.

"Yeah, we didn't know what they could be doing that late at night! Plus they were wearing these weird uniforms...they looked like...like...?" the girl said, twirling a finger around her hair and looking thoughtful.

Officer Deryl set the metal pieces in a small tray on his desk then leaned back against it, crossing his arms, "Like what?"

"Well, we got some pictures," the girl pulled a phone from her pocket and handed it to him, "Maybe they'll be helpful?"

Taking the phone, he scrolled through several of the fuzzy photos, and although he could definitely make out some sort of organized activity he couldn't really see clearly enough to tell exactly what was going on or who was doing it until he got to one particular, clear photo.

Jumping up, he exclaimed, "Sonuvabitch! It's them!"

"Who?" the two asked innocently.

Officer Deryl didn't answer at first, his instincts switching on and leaping into full work-mode.

Grabbing the phone at the desk, he jabbed in a couple numbers and barked into the receiver, his words echoing over the station's intercom system, "All officers respond immediately! We have a Code 98, I repeat Code 98! Call the other stations. We meet at Twelve Corsola, repeat Twelve Corsola! This is not a drill!"

Slamming the phone back down, he grabbed his coat and was checking his gun when he remembered the two people who had brought this to his attention. They stood looking confused and a little scared.

The girl hugged the guy nervously and asked, "We're not in trouble, are we?"

Hugging her back he added, "Two of us would make it double!"

Officer Deryl sighed, "You guys aren't in any trouble. In fact I owe you my gratitude. You see," he handed the phone back to her, "Somehow, you guys managed to catch the infamous Team Rocket, and Team Aqua, in action. We know they've been up to something in this city for a while, but haven't been able to catch them. Once we thought we had a lead. It was the basement of a casino, but by the time we stormed it the place was empty. You've been an invaluable, albeit accidental, help. Thank you."

The pair giggled and said together, "We're just happy to help!"

Since he had made his announcement, a group of the other officers on duty had appeared, grabbing their equipment and making their way to their cars. One of them clapped him on the shoulder and said they needed to get moving.

With a smile, Officer Deryl shook their hands, "I need to head down there. What are your names?"

"Wh-why do you need our names?" the girl asked, her chipper tone wavering.

"Yeah, man, we're just happy to help, like we said!" chimed in the guy.

Officer Deryl raised his eyebrow, "For our records. You two don't have any reason to withhold your names...right?"

"My name is Jenny!"

"Mine's Jacob!"

Nodding, Officer Deryl said, "Okay then. Jenny, Jacob, you two need to stay here while we go investigate. I'll go over the paperwork with you when I get back. Um," he looked around, "Amy?"

The secretary looked up again, pushing some of her blonde hair out of her face, "Yeah?"

"Can you see to it these guys get what they need; coffee, water, a snack, whatever and are comfy until we come back?"

With a smirk Amy said, "I don't think we have any incense or condoms but I'm sure we can figure something out."

The girl gasped indignantly and crossed her arms.

Officer Deryl scowled at Amy, "This is why this is your third job within a year. Now be professional for once and we'll return as soon as we can."

With another nod at the pair, he jogged out the door to join several of his fellows.

It was quiet for a moment, until the girl glanced knowingly at her companion and said in a syrupy-sweet tone, "Excuse us, Amy?"

Flicking her gaze at them she dully asked, "Yes?"

"Um, can you tell us where the bathrooms are?"

She sighed, "Down that hall, make a right, first door on the left."

Giggling and thanking her, they made their way toward them.

As soon as they were around the corner and out of sight, Jessie sputtered, "That rotten little-! She reminds me way too much of Cassidy!"

James desperately scratched under his wig, "I know I know! You can beat her up later. Now time for Part B!"

Finding the nearest fire exit doors they pushed through them and snuck back outside.

A couple minutes later, two officers rushed in the front door and hurriedly asked Amy, "Are Officer Deryl and the others still here?!"

She shook her head, "They already left."

"Dammit!" the male officer said, "We were out on patrol when we got the call and ran back here quick as we could."

"We don't have a car-are there any left?" the female officer asked.

"Yeah, sure, there's a car still," said Amy, tossing her a set of keys, "Just don't crash the thing; technically I'm not supposed to just give them out."

Tipping his hat, the male officer said with a wink and a sultry grin, "Thanks a million, Amy. You're the best."

She flushed pink and grinned back at him. The female officer rolled her eyes and gesturing to the door they went outside, Amy mouthing 'call me!' to him as they left.

Once back outside Jessie huffed at him, "Really?"

"Ah come on! I was just helping to smooth things over." James snorted.

Jessie finally laughed, "Oh, you were being smooth all right. Did you see how red her face got? I think she might need new panties now."

Flicking some of his bangs James grinned, "What can I say? When you've got it, you've got it."

They jogged around the back of the building to the garage, finding one car still there. Jessie unlocked it and they hopped in, removing parts of their disguises as she started it up and floored it, skidding out onto the street.

"I can give you a shortcut to get there that I can guarantee the police don't know about." said James.

Jessie nodded, not taking her eyes off the road, "Good. But first we need to get someone. He's not going to want to miss the show."

Heading back to the Pokemon Center to retrieve Persian, they ran inside. Not bothering to wait for anyone to show up, Jessie jabbed at the buzzer on the front desk while yelling for service. The nurse hurried out and asked what the matter was.

"How's Persian?" they asked.

The nurse blinked at them. Then a hand flew to her mouth as she said, "Oh! It is you two! I didn't know you were police officers!"

They glanced down at themselves and exchanged a quick 'oops' glance before James cleared his throat, "Sorry, yes, um, we were in the middle of an undercover mission. Top-secret stuff. You understand. So um, is Persian recovered? We kind of need him back."

Jessie crossed her arms and nodded in agreement.

Cheerfully, the nurse said, "Oh, no problem! And yes, your Persian is just fine! I'll go get him then."

She quickly turned and left the room.

Smirking, Jessie said, "Nice story you came up with there."

With a sly grin James replied, "Why thank you. The best part is that, technically, I'm not even lying!"

Moments later, Persian bounded through the doors and leapt clear over the counter to land at their feet. His fur was clean and almost shiny, and his tail practically wagged with energy. James kneeled down to hug him with a laugh. He started to open his mouth but with the 'don't-even-think-about-it' look Jessie shot him he snapped it back shut again and he glowered at her sourly.

Right behind him came the nurse, trying to catch her breath, "Goodness! Well as you can see, he's in tip-top shape!"

"There's no lasting side effects then?" wondered James.

"From what?"

Jessie subtly gave him the same look she had Persian, and he returned it with an 'I'm-not-stupid' glare of his own before saying, "From his injuries. He took a nasty blow to the head."

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about! I did a full health screening and there's no permanent damage!" she patted the top of his head, "He's been such a good boy!"

Persian forced himself to give a friendly meow while he rolled his crimson eyes clear to the ceiling.

Jessie smirked and mirrored her gesture, "He is a good boy! Aren't you Persian? Yes you are!"

Her tone grew increasingly sweet and patronizing, and the feline's eyes shot daggers at her while James tried desperetly not to laugh, finally having to turn his head.

Once back in the car, Persian exploded, "_So help me if you EVA talk ta me like dat again-!_"

"I'm so sorry!" Jessie snorted, "I couldn't help myself!"

Reaching to the backseat, she gave him a hug that he begrudingly accepted, her tone becoming soft and serious, "...I'm glad you're alright."

James joined the group hug, "Me too. We were really worried about you pal."

"Sorry I scared ya like dat. Now, what say we go stop dose guys?!"

Releasing him, Jessie sighed and looked off in the distance, "They're probably already there and have them cuffed and locked up. Dammit! I really wanted to be there."

"I doubt it." said James, crossing his arms behind his head.

"And why is that?"

Grinning mischievously he replied, "I gave them the wrong address. The place they're headed to is a couple blocks away. Oh, they'll figure it out soon enough, but it'll buy us enough time to get there ahead of them."

Jessie laughed and kissed his cheek, "Nice move! Now then," she started the car and revved the engine, causing the other two passengers to hastily fasten their seat belts, "How about that short-cut?"

The last bunch of crates were being loaded onto the awaiting ship while Gus, Brinks, a Rocket executive and Team Aqua's current leader discussed the final details of their exchange. Just as they were trading the agreed upon amounts of money and thanking each other for the business, several smoke bombs flew into their midst and exploded! Smoke billowed everywhere, obscuring sight and inciting panic. Underlings scattered, some running to hide, others going to the ship, some pulling out Pokeballs or weapons while those in charge barked orders and tried to restore calm.

Hearing a set of voices laughing through the thick smoke, they turned to see three obscured figures standing atop a tall pile of wood crates.

"Hey! Who are you?! Show yourselves!" snarled Gus.

The smoke began to dissipate, enough to reveal two people dressed all in black, except for the blood-red masks that hid part of their faces. A large Persian crouched between them, fur bristled and fangs bared.

Feeling the adrenaline pumping, Jessie jabbed a finger at them, "Who are we? We'll tell you! Prepare for trouble, one more time!"

Smiling inwardly, remembering how he had thought he'd never be doing this again, James mirrored her gesture, "Make it double, now we're fighting crime!"

"To protect the world from-"

A shot rang out and Jessie ducked with a yelp. A nanosecond later her blood froze and her cry became a strangled scream of horror as she saw James fall backwards from the force of the bullet...


	16. A Bit of Luck

Landing hard on his back with a sickening thud, Persian leapt to his side, crying his name as he lay far too still. Pawing at him, he received no response as tears streamed down his muzzle. Jessie's feet were rooted to the spot with her heart hammering madly, feeling certain she was going to vomit when she heard a sharp bark of laughter and slowly turned to see Brinks holding his still-smoking pistol.

"Whoops! My finger must have slipped!" he sneered, "Well, I never thought I'd run into you guys again. I recognized your voices the minute you opened yer big mouths. Looks like I finally got to finish what I started. Told you I wouldn't miss!"

Jessie's hands clenched, her fingers digging into her palms so hard her nails bit into the skin and drew blood, "I will tear your throat out with my bare hands..." she growled so furiously some of the nearby grunts backed away.

The Rocket executive raised his eyebrow, "I know those voices too...wait a minute! Two people and a cat Pokemon-it can't be! Jessie, James and Meowth? I thought you losers were dead, or at least banished somewhere."

"Well, one of them is anyway." chuckled Gus.

The Team Aqua leader smirked, "Ooh, harsh."

In this time a large group of subordinates from both sides had moved in to create a ring around them, preventing their escape. They still held either Pokeballs or some manner of weapon and stood waiting for instruction.

Persian stepped back up onto the crate next to Jessie, sniffling but looking determined.

He flattened his ears, "Whattaya say Jess? You go for Brinks, I get ta rip Gus ta ribbons."

"Get out of here." she replied firmly.

Persian cocked his head, "What?!"

"You heard me. Get out of here. Both of us aren't going to make it, and I..." she resisted glancing at James's limp form but failed.

The tears that had not come earlier now flowed freely. A thousand emotions, memories and thoughts whirled through her mind, slicing her apart like tiny shards of glass. It had happened again, like every other time in her life; each time she thought she had finally attained some sort of peace, happiness or success it was somehow cruelly torn from her and she had to start all over again, re-building herself with whatever scraps were left...only this time she wasn't sure she'd have that opportunity. Frankly, she didn't care anymore. She didn't care if she won or lost, lived or died, only if the last friend she had left in this world got out okay.

Persian dug his claws into the wood, "I ain't goin' nowhere, Jess. We're still a team, and I ain't leavin' ya!"

She chuckled harshly and pointed at James, "You know who else said that? He did, and look what happened to him! So do us both a favor and get out while you still can!"

"But-"

"_I said go away!" _she yelled furiously, kicking at him.

He dodged her but came back to his place by her side, _"NO!" _he snarled, "I know what your doin' 'cause you've done stuff like dis before but I ain't fallin' for it! I don't got no one either and if you go down I'm comin' with ya! So dere!"

Jessie swallowed hard, her voice cracking, "You stupid, stubborn..."

Wiping her eyes, she drew a deep breath and assessed the situation. They were completely surrounded, with little to no hope of escape. Several of them, including Gus and Brinks, had guns trained on them. Never in her life had she felt so hopelessly defeated, and considering some of the situations she had been in, that was saying something.

She reached over to lay her hand atop his head, memorizing the feel of his soft fur, "Persian...if that's how you truly feel, I can't stop you. I can only say thank you, my dear friend. For everything. And...we'll all be together again. Our strange little family...will always find each other."

"That's right." he said firmly.

Brinks snorted, "I've had enough of this sap! These idiots know they're dead meat. Everyone with a firearm! One..."

Jessie and Persian locked eyes, silently wishing each other the best.

"Two!"

They looked away, standing tall and brave...for James, for each other, for the team, for themselves.

"Three-"

Another loud shot rang out, and both Gus and Brinks dropped their weapons with pained cries! Jessie and Persian whipped around to see Officer Deryl and a whole squad of other officers with their guns trained on the criminals!

"Drop your weapons! NOW!" bellowed Deryl.

Some immediately did so, while others began shooting back. Another group simply tried to scatter and run, only to be tackled or chased by police. A brief chaos ensued, and Jessie, taking the opportunity and snapping out of her self-induced trance, jumped down to James. She kneeled heavily and using all her strength, pulled him to a sitting position to cradle him against her chest just as she had done two long years ago. Persian joined her, hanging his head and shaking with sorrow as they mourned the loss of their other half amidst the chaos, screaming and gunshots just on the other side of their tiny, temporary sanctuary.

Tugging down her mask, she kissed the top of his head and buried her face in his soft hair, "I love you!...Why..why..." she sobbed, her breath heaving, "Why does _everyone always_ leave me!? We were supposed to be together to the bitter end-but not like this! We were gonna finally be successful, start a new life somewhere...maybe even have a family..."

Abruptly, his eyes flew open and he jerked upright, pulling away to sit on his own, gasping and clutching his chest. Jessie and Persian yelped in shock and fell backwards away from him.

Turning to look at them, he removed his own mask and asked curiously, "What did I miss?!"

They stared at him, dumbfounded, shocked and relieved all at the same time.

"How..?!" wondered Persian, finding his voice first.

James gingerly touched the back of his head, aching from hitting the floor and grinned meekly, "Well, I had a feeling Brinks was going to take a shot at me, so..." he tugged his shirt up to reveal the bullet-proof vest underneath, "I took precautions! Nabbed it from-"

Jessie threw herself on top of him, grabbing him by the collar and kissing him so fiercely he nearly fell back down again. Persian made a face and turned away to check on the situation around them, which seemed to be winding down. Abruptly, she pulled back and slapped him across the face.

"Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!" she yelled, jabbing an accusing finger at him.

He rubbed his stinging cheek, "Ow! Alright, alright! Sheesh...I love you too..."

Persian glanced at them, "I'm glad ta see you're okay too Jimmy, but I ain't doin' _dat_. Anyway if you two are done, it looks like dey've got things about wrapped up...should we stay or should we go?"

Getting to her feet, she grabbed James' hand to help him up and said, "We should probably go."

James nodded, "If they get back to the station and 'Jenny' and 'Jacob' aren't there it's going to be-"

"Hey!" called a voice from behind them.

Startled, they whirled to find Officer Deryl glaring them down-with his own pistol aimed right at them. They raised their hands and began babbling all at once, pleading for mercy.

Deryl suddenly blinked and lowered his weapon, "Waaait...Jenny, Jacob? What the hell are you guys doing here?! Start talking!"

Jessie scrambled to think of something, "Well you see-we're um, funny story, we're actually...uh..."

Persian wisely chose to keep quiet; they were in enough trouble and he knew his speaking ability would just raise more questions than they were already in for.

"Superheroes!" James blurted out.

All stared at him blankly.

"...Superheroes?" Deryl repeated slowly.

Deciding to just run with it, Jessie said, "Yeah! See, we go around and try to find bad guys, and then stop them! These are our costumes, and this is our sidekick!" She gave Persian a hug and flashed the officer her most convincing, sweet-and-innocent grin.

Deryl finally put his gun away, "Ooookay. I get it; you've read too many comics and seen too many movies, and you think that it'd be easy and even fun, right?"

They nodded sheepishly, again trying to play dumb.

"Well it's not," he continued, "It's hard, and dangerous, and there's way too much paperwork involved. _God,_ the paperwork...hold on a second, how'd you guys get here before us?"

Here Jessie's innocent smile faltered, though she tried, "Oh, that Amy lent us a car! She's a real pal!"

Officer Deryl's eyebrows shot up. Groaning, he then rubbed his forehead, "That's it. I'm taking a vacation," looking back up, he jerked his thumb toward the outside loading door, "Well come on then, heroes! We've got some of that wonderful paperwork to do."

He led them across the building, stepping around several sheet-covered bodies along the way. They cringed and stayed as far from them as possible. Jessie suddenly noticed one of them wore heavy, military-style boots. Her heart skipped a beat and she found herself secretly hoping it was Brinks. Police were still milling around, taking photos, examining the scene, and dragging out the last people they had managed to find, handcuffing them as they protested their innocence.

One officer approached Deryl, "We're just about done here. Caught them by surprise; only a few managed to get away. We got all the ringleaders though. You are not gonna believe what we uncovered, Deryl! This was quite the elaborate..." she paused as she noticed the trio and put her hands on her hips, "What's with the three musketeers here? They your new deputies?"

Deryl again rubbed his brow, "I'll explain later, Mariah. Let's just finish up and nip this in the bud. It's been a long day...night. Whatever. Alright you two; come on."

As they walked outside, they saw Gus slumped in the back of a car, sourly looking down. James grinned ear-to-ear at the spectacle. They also saw their former superior handcuffed and sitting on a discarded crate being questioned by several officers.

Upon spotting them, he tried to jump up but was stopped and yelled, "Hey! Hey those guys are Rockets too! Somebody arrest them!"

Deryl glanced at them, then waved a hand dismissively as the officers looked at him for an answer, "Yeah, yeah, sure...and I'm actually one of the Elite Four! Get 'em out of here."

They couldn't help but smile smugly at each other as he was dragged off, kicking and howling indignantly.

"Who's the loser now?" said Jessie, quietly enough for only them to hear.

Making their way back to their 'borrowed' transportation, Deryl suddenly stopped them with a sharp whistle.

He shook his head and pointed to his own car, "Oh no! You're with me. If you think _you're_ driving that back you'll be joining the riff-raff!"

Back at the police station, Officer Deryl found the paperwork he had talked about and gave them several sheets to fill out as he sat glumly at his desk in front of his own little mountain. They huddled together at an unoccupied desk, filling in every question with a practiced ease and gloriously false information. After doing so, they handed them back to Deryl, who gave them a stern warning against any future vigilante-like activities as he wished them well and they said their goodbyes. They barely got ten steps out of the place, however, before another officer burst through the doors behind them, yelling for them to stop. They looked at each other in terror.

"They know!" cried Jessie.

"But how!?" James added, his voice involuntarily higher-pitched.

"Dey musta looked up our pictures in dere computers!" said Persian, "Let's run for it!"


	17. Coming Up Roses

In a panic they bolted, but only a short distance later Persian skidded to a halt and turned around.

"What are you doing?!" called Jessie as they too stopped in confusion.

"Hold up guys! He said somethin' about a reward for us!"

James frowned, "Yeah, probably for catching us!"

Persian shook his head, "No, no! I think he said dey wanna _give_ us one!"

The humans glanced at each other uncertainly as the young officer got closer to them.

"What do we do, Jess?" asked James.

Her eyes narrowed, "We'll see what he wants, knock him out and run if we have to, then grab what we can carry from your house and disappear. We've done it before. We may be a bit out of practice but I think we've still got it in us."

Sighing heavily, James crossed his arms, "I suppose. I was really starting to like this whole normal life thing, too..."

Finally the officer caught up to them. Leaning forward with his hands on his knees, he panted for breath for a few moments before speaking.

"Whew! Glad I caught you...Officer Deryl forgot about the reward for you guys!"

They smiled nervously before asking, "Oh...?"

Standing back upright, the young man smiled, "There's been a reward out for information leading to the whereabouts and arrest of the Team Rocket and Aqua gangs and whomever they were working with for a long time! Come back with me and we can get that money to you; after all you're the ones who found them!"

Instantly they relaxed, grinning and giving each other high-fives as he led the way back.

"How much do you think it is?" asked James quietly.

"Pfft, probably not much but who cares?" replied Jessie as she stretched and yawned, their long night finally starting to catch up with her, "Free money is free money."

"And considerin' we're all unemployed..._again_...anyting we can get is good." added Persian.

The young officer turned around, "Holy smokes you can talk?!"

Persian smiled casually, "Sometimes."

"More like all the time." smirked Jessie, earning a glare from Persian and a giggle-snort from James.

With a huge, admiring grin, the officer said, "Wow, maybe you guys really _are_ superheroes."

Once they were back inside, Deryl approached them, "I assume Jacob already gave you the overview?"

They nodded and he continued, picking up a sheet of paper from his desk, "For quite a while now, we've had detectives and seasoned veteran officers on their trail, and not one has managed to catch them in the act-until you showed up. Anyway, out of desperation, Slateport and other nearby cities started pooling money for a reward for their capture. Actually, I'm surprised you didn't know about it, considering you're 'superheroes' and all."

James rubbed the back of his neck, "We uh, we're really busy..."

"And besides, we're not in it for the money you know? We just wanna help." added Jessie, internally rolling her eyes.

Deryl's half-smile told her he didn't quite believe her but was letting it go, "Noble as that may be, it's still rightfully and legally yours. Here," he handed them the paper, "It's the form you need to sign to claim it. All the legal crap has already been taken care of."

A quick glance at the paper made them all gasp in disbelief. Jessie grabbed the nearest desk so she wouldn't drop from shock.

Eyes wide she stammered, "Is-is that figure right?!"

James muttered, "I haven't seen this many zeroes since my last report card..."

He held it down for Persian to read, who yowled, "_Five-hundred thousand?!_"

Deryl and several others nearby turned to stare at him in startled disbelief.

The feline lowered his head and grinned sheepishly, "Eh-heh...perrrr?"

The eastern horizon was beginning to lighten as they walked quickly toward James and Persian's cottage, giddy and animatedly discussing their next moves.

James looked over their check again, still scarcely believing his eyes, "With this much money we could do just about anything we wanted! Hee-heehee!"

Pumping her fist in the air, Jessie declared, "I vote we go on a vacation-a nice one! A lovely beach-side resort, pampering at the spa, all-you-can-eat buffets, the works!"

Persian licked his lips, "Sounds good ta me!"

At this James paused, his smile fading a little. He stopped to lean on a railing, gazing out over the water at the steadily brightening eastern sky. His companions glanced curiously at each other before joining him.

Persian stood up to rest his front legs on the wood beams and flicked his tail, "What's the matter Jimmy? We just stopped all dem from who-knows-what dey were up ta! Don't ya think we've earned ourselves a lil' r-an'-r?"

"He's right you know," Jessie added as she mirrored them, "After all we've been through and risking our lives we deserve a reward!"

With a slightly bitter laugh he said, "All things considered, I'm not certain what we actually deserve, or how many good deeds it takes to erase all the rotten things we've done. What I know, however, is what I want."

"Which is?"

He mulled over his response. Once again, what his heart yearned to say and what he felt was best were two different answers. What he truly wished to say, was that he wanted to fall asleep every night with her in his arms, to have a real home somewhere, to never have to worry about money or where their next meal was coming from, to watch their children and Pokemon grow up with the safety and love they never had. He again glanced at their check; none of that was going to happen if they squandered it all now.

'Well,' he thought to himself, 'You wanted to be a braver man, here's another chance to prove it.'

Turning to her and drawing a deep breath, he started to speak when the sun finally burst over the horizon, flooding the world with molten, golden light. Hearing a buzzing noise overhead, they shielded their eyes and looked up to see a small airplane heading out to sea towards the rising sun. James's heart skipped a beat as he was suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration as brilliant as the dawn light around them.

Excitedly he turned back to his companions, "I have an idea! What have we always been good at?!"

Jessie and Persian exchanged an 'oh-boy' look before answering in succession.

"Losin'?"

"Having everything literally blow up in our faces?"

James shook his head, "No, no! That's not what I mean! What I'm asking is; what skills do we have? Even back when we were losing all the time, what things were we still good at?"

Jessie tapped her chin, "Well we were, and still are, pretty good at coming up with plans."

"And buildin' stuff!" said Persian.

Snapping his fingers, James said enthusiastically, "Exactly! And all the traveling by balloon we've done has made us expert flyers and navigators. Jessie, Persian, I have an idea that's sure to not only be a wise investment for the money we have now, but will earn us enough that we'll never be hungry, jobless or homeless again!" he threw out his arms, "We'll start our own air-travel service! We'll begin locally, maybe to and from points across town, then if we expand we'll offer city-to-city routes! It'll be a hit!"

They started at him incredulously, then awkwardly looked away.

His smile fell and his arms dropped to his sides, "You think it's stupid don't you? Of course you do. I don't blame you, really..."

Jessie bit her lip; it wasn't completely hair-brained-after all such a service could be very useful as they well knew. Travel by air was speedy and convenient, not to mention quite scenic. He was also right about their skills. On the other hand, was it worth the risk and investment of their well-earned windfall? Looking back at him, she made up her mind in an instant, feeling more confident and hopeful than she had in eons.

Persian spoke first, "It ain't that's it's stupid Jimmy...it's just..."

"Let's do it." Jessie grinned, causing him to look up again and cock his head slightly, unsure if he had heard her right.

"Really?"

"Are you serious, Jess?" Persian said, "We don't know nothin' about actually ownin' and runnin' a business!"

Wagging a finger, Jessie replied, "On the contrary my furry friend; I've learned quite a lot in my last few jobs about such things, especially this most recent one. Though we all worked for Mr. Langer, we were also each essentially our own little businesses with our own clients, cases and paperwork to handle. I got really good at it, if I do say so myself!"

"So are you really saying...?" asked James hopefully.

With a sigh she said, "Yeah, why the hell not? There's worse things we could blow our money on," she then crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "We're still spending a little on a vacation though."

Knowing there was no arguing with that look, and having his own plans for a portion of it, he replied, "Fair enough."

Shrugging, Persian said, "Well, I guess I've been out-voted! And the more I think about it, the more I think dat maybe, just maybe, we could pull dis thing off."

Throwing his arms around them, James laughed happily as they all turned to gaze out over the shimmering ocean, appreciating the symbolic nature of it all; a new dawn for the world, and if all went well, one for them, too...

One week later, at a beach-side hotel, pale moonlight seeped through the windows of a cozy suite. All was quiet except for the rustling of fabric and ragged breathing of it's two occupants. Jessie clutched the sheets and tilted her head back with a moan as James' lips grazed her neck. Moving up to her jawline, he murmured into her ear and eased his pace against her, his thrusts slow and deep. It wasn't long before she cried out and arched her hips into his as her climax hit her. Moments later he followed, burying his face in her shoulder and trying not to be _too_ loud. With a soft kiss he half-rolled, half-melted off of her and they lay side-by-side catching their breath.

After a brief pause she reached out and grasped his hand, "So glad we told that cat about the late-night buffet special."

"So glad he believed us," he replied with a snort, "Think he's still looking for it?"

They shared a good chuckle, enjoying their bit of deviousness, before lapsing back into a comfortable silence.

Still floating, Jessie suddenly said, "Holy hell you're good...I could get used to this!"

Echoing her move from a week prior, he disentangled his hand from hers and swung his legs around to sit upright on the edge of the bed with his back to her, sighing slowly. Curiously, she too sat up, turning to face him as she propped herself up on one elbow.

"What?" she asked, sensing the sudden shift in his demeanor.

Brushing several sweaty pieces of hair away from his eyes he said, "Did you...really mean what you said?"

"Oh, don't be cryptic. Did I mean what?"

He gripped a handful of sheet, worried he may be about to destroy what they had just begun to build but needing to say it or he'd never be at ease.

"...About us having a family."

Jessie's heart skipped a beat, "Wait-you heard all that? I thought you were still unconscious."

"I was starting to wake up as you were talking; that was the only part I heard clearly. Jess I have to know," he turned now to face her, forcing himself to not be distracted by her naked, sinuous form, "Are you really that serious about this, about us?"

Her brow furrowed and suddenly self-conscious, she pulled the sheet up to cover herself, "I quit my job for you. A job that I actually really enjoyed and was exceptional at, thank you very much! If that doesn't answer your question I don't know what would."

That should have been the end of it, and James knew it. But he couldn't help it, he had to make sure, and so before he could more carefully calculate his next sentence the words tumbled out.

"Well, you've always had a habit of being a bit flighty..."

Upon seeing her expression, he instantly regretted it, flinching as years of experience had trained him for the slap or punch that usually followed that look. This time, however, she simply flung the sheet off, snatched her robe and slipped it on as she stood and walked a few steps away.

"_Flighty?_ Excuse me?" she fumed, planting her hands on her hips.

James felt the heat rise his face. Typical; whenever he tried to point out one of her faults or transgressions he was met with haughty anger, no matter how right he was. With a quick glare he again turned his back to her, grabbing his boxers and pajama pants, "When things got too tough, or especially when you thought you had a quick and easy exit, you-"

"I can't believe this!" she spat, clenching her fists, "I told you-I gave up my career so we could be together again! I'll have you know I was in the running for a cushy promotion too! I finally felt like I had arrived; my life's dream of being successful and making a name for myself was coming true-okay so it wasn't exactly what I pictured but dammit it was leagues better than anything else-do you honestly think I gave all that up just to turn around and abandon you?!"

His voice low and sorrowful, he replied, "It wouldn't be the first time."

She started to open her mouth but snapped it shut again as his words hit her like a kick to the stomach. As much as she was loathe to admit it, he had a valid point. Her rage dissipated, she hugged herself and turned to look out the sliding glass doors.

He sighed, "The first time was back in the bike gang. I believe your words were something like, 'I'm not going to be stuck in this crappy place with you losers for the rest of my life. I'm leaving to be somebody!' and then you were gone..."

"I was practically a child!" she scoffed, feeling a twinge of guilt nonetheless.

Finally standing, he turned to her again, though she didn't look at him, "Yes...and when we met up again, I forgave you. Then you took off to pursue contests, even after I supported you in them-"

Jessie stomped farther away toward the window, "And I came back, didn't I?!"

"Yeah you did. And once again, I forgave you," he cautiously approached, stopping a couple feet behind her, "Two years ago when you disappeared, I understood, though I didn't know at first if I could forgive you another time...but then when I saw you standing on that dock, your hands clenched against your heart and looking as terrified but happy as I felt...I did."

He saw her hug herself tighter, scrunching her shoulders up as far as possible as if trying to hide, though she still didn't speak. What he didn't see were the tears running down her face or how she bit her lip to keep from breaking down into a blubbering blob.

Instead he continued, "Jessie...I love you with all my heart and soul. But I don't know how many more times I can forgive you for dumping me to the side whenever opportunity knocks...especially if we ever _did_ have kids..." he swallowed hard and felt his heart hammering as his own eyes watered, afraid of the answer, "So I'm sorry but I have to know...do I mean as much to you as you do to me?"

Whirling, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his chest, finally letting it all go. He was absolutely right, every word of it-she had spent so much time treating him horribly and still he had chosen to come back, to be there for her no matter what, to forgive her selfish impulsiveness...she had always fancied herself the strong one but in some ways, he was stronger and better than she could ever be.

Sobs shook her body as she clung to him, finally calming down enough to say, "You mean everything to me...and if I ever broke your heart again _I _couldn't forgive _myself. _You've stuck by my side no matter what, even after all the things I put you through or yeah, I abandoned you...I know I've run off before, but I'm done. If I ever run away again, it'll be _with_ you..." pulling back a little, she managed a half-smile, "Sorry, but I've decided you're stuck with me."

Grinning ear-to-ear, his own happy tears flowing, he replied, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Her own smile widening, she stepped back and held up one arm, "Double trouble time?"

Mirroring her, he grabbed her hand, "Sounds great to me, Jessie!"


	18. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE  
**

Several Pidgies fluttered in circles, chasing each other from tree to tree along the walkway through Goldenrod City's East Side Park. The walkway circled a large artificial lake where patrons napped or enjoyed a picnic on the shore, letting their Pokemon play or just soak up the warm late-morning sun. Making his way along the path, a young man studied his guide-book as his Pikachu bounded around his feet.

"I know Pikachu, I'm excited too!" laughed Ash, "It's been a long time since we were here, and there's a bunch of new stuff to see. Well, we've got a couple hours before we meet up with everyone for lunch, so what do you wanna see first, pal?"

The yellow mouse leaped up onto his shoulder and pointed at the map, "Piika!"

"Oh! The Radio Tower? But-whoa!"

As he spoke an Eevee darted under him, a young toddler right on it's heels. She collided with his legs, knocking him off balance and nearly losing her own but quickly recovered. Being not as lucky, after a moment of frantic flailing Ash dropped to the ground with a yelp, Pikachu jumping away to avoid falling or being squished himself. The commotion caused the Eevee to turn around, thus allowing the child to catch up to it.

She laughed triumphantly and patted it's head, "Nice try Eevee! I catch you!"

Ash was composing himself and rubbing his sore hip when a panicked-looking man ran up and scooped the child into his arms.

"Sweetie, how many times have I told you not to run off like that!?" he said with a long-suffering sigh, then turned to Ash, "I'm so sorry about this, she-"

Ash looked up at him, and in that instant the two recognized each other.

Leaping to his feet, Ash pointed at him in shock and he did the same as they cried in unison, "YOU!" Pikachu took a fighting stance, baring his teeth and sparking his cheeks.

As this was happening two more figures approached, and the young trainer turned his accusatory finger toward them, "And you! What are you up to this time Team Rocket?!"

Jessie did a double-take and raised her sunglasses to her forehead, "Twerp?! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," Ash snapped, pointing to the little girl, "Now you've turned to kidnapping, huh?! Put her down!"

James and Jessie looked at each other and burst into laughter. The child looked at them then joined in, figuring something fun must be going on. Ash's hand fell and he glared sourly at them as Persian now spoke up.

"Long time no see kid, and dis is how ya treat us?"

Ash and Pikachu took a step back, "Wait-Meowth?!" "Piika?!"

Persian coyly licked a paw, "In da flesh."

Finally, they stopped laughing as Jessie wiped a tear from her eye, "Oh my, you're as funny and slow as ever!"

Grinning, James added, "Kidnapping this little cutie would be kind of impossible." He tapped the end of her nose and she giggled.

"And why's that?" asked Ash, still on edge and not trusting them for a second.

Rolling her eyes Jessie said, "Oh for heaven's sake, just look at her!"

He did so, taking a good look as she intently studied a Spinarak climbing up a nearby tree trunk. Her large green eyes were wide with amazement as she watched it spin a web while playing with a section of her long, shiny magenta hair. Glancing at them, then back at her, the realization hit Ash like a Take Down attack.

"_She's-she's yours?!"_ he stammered.

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" said James, "Allow me to introduce you to Jane."

Upon hearing her name, she turned toward her father, then to Ash as if noticing him for the first time. Jessie noted with silent satisfaction that her daughter looked suitably unimpressed. Ash stared in sheer disbelief, still trying to process the several shocks he had gotten in the span of only a few minutes. Pikachu, still leery, jumped back up on his shoulder and continued to glare down their old enemies.

After a few moments he shook his head and half-smiled with a shrug, "Um, congratulations? She's...really cute."

Jane reached out to Jessie with a happy squeak of "Mama!", who took her and said matter-of-factly, "Well, of course she's cute-she _is _ours after all!"

Now more fully relaxed, figuring that if they were going to try and steal Pikachu or pull off any other nefarious scheme they would have tried it by now (and feeling that even they would never put their child in harm's way), Ash said, "So uh... wow, this is weird...I guess this is why we haven't seen you guys in such a long time. I was wondering what happened to you."

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, it's a _long_ story; you wouldn't be interested."

Adjusting Jane's white ribbon headband, Jessie added, "Suffice it to say, we've got more important things to take care of now."

"Are you still part of Team Rocket?"

They shook their heads, Jessie saying, "Heavens no! Who needs them when you've got a successful business of your own?"

James gave a thumbs-up, "We're on the straight and narrow now!" Noting Ash and Pikachu's skeptical looks he added, "Honest!"

"Okay then," Ash crossed his arms, "What's this 'business' all about?"

"We'll show you!" said James, taking a pocket watch from his vest pocket, "The 10 o'clock should be passing this way in 5...4...3...2...1...there!"

He pointed up, and following his finger, Ash spotted a large hot-air balloon. It had a wooden, boat-shaped basket with high railings and propellers near the bottom. Ornate netting and streamers covered the Dratini-shaped balloon that held it aloft. Squinting, he could see a group of people leaning on the railings as they looked around.

Gesturing to the aircraft Ash asked, "Wait-that's your business-a hot air balloon?"

"Not just that one, we have a fleet!" laughed Jessie, "We own a sight-seeing and travel business here in Goldenrod-and it's become quite popular!"

James pointed to Ash's guide-book, "It should be noted in that little guide of yours! We've been advertising ourselves for a while now."

Persian noted, "It aughtta be for what we're payin' 'em!"

Flipping through the pages, Ash came across a splashy color ad.

"Three Roses Sight-Seeing and Air-Travel Services," he read aloud, "See things from a whole new perspective when you fly with us! Come enjoy the best tour or commute you've ever had! Guaranteed speedy and exceptional service!"

Jessie nodded, "So as you can see kid, we're actually telling the truth!"

Putting the guide back in his bag, Ash replied, "Yeah...gee, this is all really a surprise...running into you again, seeing you've evolved," he looked at Persian, "seeing you two have a kid now and aren't trying to pull a fast one or steal Pikachu...I'm not sure what's the _biggest_ surprise here!"

James sighed wistfully, "Ah yes, we certainly did give you a lot of trouble didn't we?"

His voice dripping with sarcasm Ash grumbled, "Just a little..."

Cheerfully Jessie waved a hand, "Oh well, that's all behind us now! Let's let bygones be bygones shall we? Still, after everything we did, I wish there was something we could do for you...hold on!" she looked at James, "Do we still have any of the super-special passes?"

He clicked his fingers, "Ah, yes we do! An excellent idea!"

Digging into an inner vest pocket and muttering to himself, he suddenly gave a triumphant 'ah-ha' and with an exaggerated flourish, plucked out a shiny, red-and-gold piece of paper, holding it out to Ash.

Blinking, he asked, "What is it?"

Clearing his throat, James announced dramatically, "What is it?! Why, this is a super-special, very-limited edition, one-of-only-a-few, unlimited travel passes good for any of our balloons or routes anywhere, anytime-no expiration date either!"

"Only a few people have these, kid," said Jessie, "Mainly me, James and Persian here, and Jane."

Ash grinned as he accepted the ticket, "Wow! Thanks a lot! This'll really come in handy."

Pikachu, deciding that if Ash was acting this relaxed around them, it must be okay, jumped back down from his shoulder to the ground.

The movement caught Jane's eye, who squealed in delight, "Pikachu! Pika pika pika!"

Before anyone could stop her, she had wriggled from her mother's grasp and ran to the electric rodent, enveloping him in an enthusiastic hug. Certain her daughter was about to get zapped, Jessie shrieked and darted to grab her. In the same moment Ash reached for Pikachu-but they were both stopped by the sight of a giggling, over-joyed Jane and an equally happy Pikachu rubbing their cheeks together. The tiniest bits of static could be seen, and wisps of Jane's hair stuck out.

"Hee hee! He's tickling me!" she said.

Jessie, James and Persian all exchanged a knowing look, with Jessie saying dully, "Yes honey...it tickles..."

"'Bout as much as a trip ta the dentist..." Persian muttered.

Hoisting the Pokemon in her arms, Jane turned to her parents, "Can I have a Pikachu?"

"May-maybe someday pumpkin!" James laughed nervously.

Kneeling down, Ash asked her, "Hey Jane, do you want to be a Pokemon Trainer?"

Still holding Pikachu, Jane glanced at him, "Naaah, I'm gonna be a coor'nator! And I'll be the best and prettiest and really famous too!" She did a little twirl and flipped her hair.

"...Wow, she really _is_ your daughter..." Ash said half to himself, then to her again, "Well, if you work really hard, and train and love your Pokemon, I'm sure you'll get there! Isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Piii-ka!" The Pokemon gave her a nose kiss and she laughed, then set him down. He jumped back to Ash's shoulder, and the young trainer stood, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Well..." he said, "I actually have to get going. This has been...well, surprising, to say the least! I'm glad to see you're doing something else now. I have to say, as much as you all drove us crazy..." he sheepishly looked at his shoes, "I'm kinda gonna miss you, in a weird way."

Jessie nodded, "The feeling is mutual, twerp-oh, I mean Ash."

He paused, not remembering the last time they had actually called him by his name. With a smile he turned, starting to walk away and waved, "Good-bye, you guys! And good luck! If I ever pass through here again I'll be sure to say hello! Oh and thanks for the ticket!"

They gave a short wave in return, Jessie picking up Jane and Persian giving a small bow. Finally they turned and continued on their way.

A couple hours later, Ash entered the cafe where they had planned on meeting earlier. Seeing his friends he waved and headed to the table where they were already seated.

"Hey guys! You are never going to believe who I ran into today..."

**~END**


End file.
